A study from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has found there’s no substantial link between popular conformation in rabbits, including floppy ears or flat faces, and an increased risk of dental problems1.

According to the RVC, recent studies estimate dental disease affects up to 18% of the UK's rabbits and breeds with lop ears and short skulls (brachycephaly) have long been suspected of being more at risk.

To investigate whether there is any truth to that suspicion, a team of RVC researchers led by Maria Jackson RVN, Research Assistant in Rabbit Health and Welfare, and Dr Charlotte Burn, Associate Professor in Animal Welfare and Behaviour Science, set out to explore whether these physical features are linked to dental problems.

The study involved visual dental checks of 435 volunteered pedigree rabbits from 49 breeds at British Rabbit Council shows and breeders’ studs across the UK.

The researchers assessed tooth and mouth health using an otoscope, while also recording ear type, head shape (on a purpose-made visual scale), body size, age and sex.

The findings revealed that:

  • Many rabbits had no obvious dental issues with 68.28% of rabbits having no incisor abnormalities and 55.40% having no issues with their cheek teeth.
  • Lop-eared rabbits were not more likely to have dental problems but were 4.03 times more likely to have watery eyes – a symptom that could be linked to other health issues.
  • Flat-faced (brachycephalic) rabbits did not show more dental abnormalities than those with longer faces.
  • Longer-faced rabbits (dolichocephalic) were slightly more likely (1.39 times) to have a specific dental issue known as “step or wave mouth”, where the premolars and molars have a step-like pattern and don’t align normally.
  • Older age and sex were more consistently linked to dental abnormalities. Male rabbits were 2.06 times more likely to have an incisor abnormality and 2.23 times more likely to have slanted or curved incisor occlusal surfaces. While females were 2.18 times more likely to have long first cheek teeth, although the clinical significance of some of these findings isn’t clear.

In conclusion, the study concluded that diet, environment and regular dental checks might be more important in the development of dental disease.

The researchers also concluded that any breeding decisions should be based on veterinary assessment of dental health, including otoscope or radiography examinations rather than relying solely on visual inspection of the teeth or a rabbit’s conformation.

Maria said: “Our findings add to the evidence that suggests lop ears and a brachycephalic head shape are less important in the development of dental issues in rabbits than was once thought.

"It’s clear that all rabbits, not just those with a non-wild conformation, can be affected by dental problems.

“The importance of feeding good-quality hay or grass and supplementing the diet with extruded pellets, not muesli, cannot be overstated, as diet may well be more important than conformation in the development of dental disease.

"Likewise, providing regular veterinary dental check-ups to rabbits is crucial to facilitate early dental disease detection and give case-specific dietary and treatment recommendations to slow disease progression and support the welfare of rabbits.” 

Reference

  1. Jackson, M. A., Betts, M., Hedley, J., & Burn, C. C. (2025). Rabbit Dental Abnormalities: Investigation of Conformational Risk Factors in a Pedigree Rabbit Population. Animals, 15(7), 980. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15070980. 

Photo: depositphotos.com

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