Rabbit teeth are designed for chomping and chewing.
Rabbits are herbivores, which means that they'll never have to tear meat or gnaw bones.
So instead of the sharp canines that are found in the mouths of cats and dogs, they have a combination of incisors, molars, and premolars..
Rabbits are unique in that they have 4 maxillary incisors (101, 102, 201, and 202) and 2 mandibular incisors (301 and 401) (FIGURE 1).
Two of the maxillary incisors (102 and 202) are significantly smaller and are called the peg teeth.
The peg teeth are located directly behind the larger set of 2 incisors (101 and 201)..
Their teeth are curved, and enamel is only found on the front surface of the teeth.
The back surface of their teeth is coated in softer dentin, which means that the front surface wears down much slower than the back.
Your rabbit's two front teeth – known as the anterior incisors – can grow up to 12cm a year..
Rabbit teeth are classified as elodont (for their continuous growth with no anatomic root) and hypsodont (for having a long crown).
The dental formula of the rabbit is 2(I 2/1, C 0/0, PM 3/2, M 3/3) =28.
The lack of canine teeth creates an elongated diastema between the incisors and premolars..
The dental formula of the rabbit is as follows: 2( I= 2/1, C=0/0, PM=3/2, M=3/3 ) = 28, where I=incisors, C=canine, P=premolar, M=molar. 2 main incisors top and bottom, 2 tiny incisors behind the main top ones, and 22 premolars and molars- each side has 6 on the top and 5 on the bottom..
Treatment requires removal of the bony abscess and the tooth.
Depending on the tooth involved this often requires a surgical approach with a drainage hole left to allow for flushing of the abscess.
Injectable antibiotics and regular revisits are often required post operatively..
Rabbits Have Incisors & “Cheek Teeth”
Rabbits have 28 teeth, four fewer than humans.
While humans have a variety of types of teeth that perform different functions, the types of teeth rabbits have are less varied.
In fact, they only have incisors, premolars, and molars (also known as cheek teeth)..
All the teeth of rabbits are classified as elodont (continuously growing, with no anatomic roots) and hypsodont (long-crowned)
The teeth can also be classified as aradicular (no anatomic root)
This type of dentition allows for a concurrent increase in teeth size with growth of the animal
4 Lateral view of the rostral part of a rabbit skull showing the incisors (I1, I2) and diastema (red double point arrows)
The mandibular incisors wear at approximately right angles to the maxillary secondary incisors (peg teeth), and the maxillary primary incisors wear along the arc followed by the mandibular incisors
