Dental disease in companion rabbits under UK primary veterinary care: frequency and risk factors
Objectives
Some prior evidence has suggested rabbits with lop ear and brachycephalic skull conformations have higher dental disease risk. This retrospective cohort study reports the frequency and conformational risk factors for primary-care veterinary diagnosis with dental disease in companion rabbits in the UK.
Methods
Anonymised VetCompass clinical records were manually reviewed to confirm dental disease cases. Risk factor analysis used multivariable binary logistic regression modelling.
Results
From 161,979 rabbits under primary veterinary care in 2019, the one-year period prevalence of dental disease overall was 15.36% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 14.78-15.96). Prevalence of dental disease affecting incisors was 3.14% (95% CI: 2.87-3.44) and cheek teeth was 13.72% (95% CI: 13.17-14.29). Neither lop ear conformation or brachycephalic skull conformation were statistically significantly associated with the odds of dental disease . Male rabbits had 1.23 times higher odds of dental disease than females (95% CI: 1.12-1.35). Dental disease odds increased as age increased, and decreased as bodyweight increased.
Clinical Significance
High overall prevalence highlights dental disease as a major welfare concern for all companion rabbits, regardless of conformation. This information can be used to encourage regular routine dental assessment of rabbits of all conformations to promote earlier diagnosis, paying particular attention to males, older rabbits or those with low bodyweight.
