Rodent dentistry (Proceedings)
Apr 01, 2008
CVC IN WASHINGTON, D.C. PROCEEDINGS
Dental Disease of Rodents
Normal dental anatomy and physiology
Dental disease of rat and squirrel-like rodents is usually related to trauma, often secondary to chewing on cage enclosures or attempting to eat inappropriately large or hard food items, such as large nuts or seeds. Traumatic injuries to incisors can lead to malocclusion, while traumatic injuries to cheek teeth usually result in fractures, carries or dental abscesses. Congenital brachygnathism has been described in hamsters, resulting in incisor malocclusion. Pseudo-odontoma of Prairie Dogs is caused by dysplasia of the roots of the maxillary incisors, likely secondary to constant chewing of cage bars. Repeated trauma impairs eruption of the maxillary incisors, leading to root deformation that ultimately acts as a space-occupying mass, reducing air passage through the nasal cavity.
Clinical signs and symptoms
Signs and symptoms of dental disease in rodents and often similar to rabbits, and most commonly include anorexia or reduced food intake, dysphagia, weight loss and gastrointestinal disturbances. Dental disease resulting in abscessation may present as a palpable firm mass or swelling. Guinea pig-like rodents with continuously erupting cheek teeth may develop epiphora due to involvement of the nasolacrimal duct. Prairie Dogs with pseudo-odontoma present with varying degrees of worsening upper respiratory symptoms and exercise intolerance. It should be noted that in some cases severe dental disease is inapparent to owners, due to difficulties directly observing teeth in these species. Rodents with severe incisor malocclusion often adapt to their disability, and do not present until disease is advanced.
The oral cavity of rodents is difficult if not impossible to evaluate without general anesthesia. Incisor deformation can be readily apparent, but disease affecting cheek teeth requires anesthesia and proper instruments to be appreciated. A variety of dental speculums and other instruments are available for this purpose (table 2). The endoscope is an extremely valuable tool for direct visualization of the oral cavity.
As in rabbits, radiographs are a valuable tool for the evaluation of the jaw, relative tooth position and the roots. Abnormalities that can be detected on dental radiographs include fractures below the gingiva, root abnormalities, osteomyelitis or other evidence of infection, and pseudo-odontoma in Prairie Dogs. Due to the unique sloped angle of the cheek teeth of guinea pigs, the occlusal plane is not visible on lateral radiographs, but must be evaluated with a rostral-caudal view.
The goal of treatment of dental disease in all species is return of anatomy and physiology to as close to normal as possible, and control of associated infection and inflammation. Techniques for restoration of normal tooth length and occlusal plane of elodont incisors and cheek teeth are discussed in dental diseases of rabbits. Under no conditions should overgrown teeth be removed or reduced with clippers or rongeurs, as iatrogenic trauma to the remaining crowns and roots is highly likely, especially with repeated treatments. Loose, fractured or otherwise severely damaged teeth can be extracted, but can be considerably more difficult in smaller species. The incisors of most rodents are extremely long and curved, and iatrogenic trauma to jaw structures is possible, especially during extraction of mandibular incisors in smaller species such as hamsters.