Association of Age, Cephalic Index, and Feeding Method with Dental Severity in Rabbits

A variety of factors which might potentially affect the severity score of rabbits’ teeth were investigated. These included the age, breed and gender of the animal as well as its cephalic index and dietary factors such as type of bowl feed and availability of hay or fresh grass. Age and cephalic index values were found to be significantly associated with the severity of dental disease, but the rabbit's gender and breed did not significantly affect this. The type of bowl feed also had an effect. However, the frequency of access to hay, fresh grass or grazing did not significantly affect this score suggesting that although some form of grass is important in the diet, the form of grass supplied to animals is not likely to affect severity scores.