Page 308 - Zoo Animal Learning and Training

292 Tasks for the Veterinary Assistant

• Missing teeth are colored in solidly. lagomorphs (rabbits) and rodents (guinea pigs, chin-
• Extracted teeth – if they were taken out by the chillas, rats, mice, hamsters) is that lagomorphs have four
veterinarian – are marked with an X over the tooth. maxillary incisors – two anterior and two posterior. These
• Worn teeth are marked with a straight line at about posterior incisors are commonly referred to as “peg teeth.”
the level of wear. The extra incisors of lagomorphs are important in
• Caries lesions are marked with a filled‐in circle on the chewing. Rabbits chew in a side‐to‐side, scissors‐like
surface of the tooth. fashion, with the two lower incisors cutting back and forth
• Enamel that is missing is drawn in to approximate the between the peg teeth and larger, anterior upper incisors.
missing area on the surface of the tooth. Rodents have only two maxillary incisors. Another
important different between lagomorphs and most
rodents (the exceptions being guinea pigs and chin-
chillas) is that all the teeth grow continuously and must
Learning Exercise be worn down by chewing or by professional dental treat-
ments. In rodents other than guinea pigs and chinchillas,
Practice filling out charts, either with a study only the incisors continue to erupt. Also, the incisor teeth
buddy or by yourself. Print off dental charts and of most rodents are normally a yellow–orange in color.
look at a picture of teeth or a skull and imagine
the lesion and sulcus depths.
Dental Formula for
Pocket Pets
Basics of Pocket Pet Dentistry

Lagomorphs (rabbits) 2(I2/1:C0/0:PM3/2:M3/3)
Pocket pet dentistry requires special equipment. There Guinea pigs and chinchillas 2(I1/1:C0/0: PM1/1:M3/3)
are specially designed dental instruments for pocket pets Rat/mouse/hamster 2(I1/1:C0/0:PM0/0:M3/3).
to allow access to the small, long, narrow mouths, assist
in retracting cheek pouches, and to cut, file, and extract
continuously erupting teeth. A useful set of instruments Ferret Dentition
would include the following:
Ferrets have similar dentition to felines. Because ferrets
• Rodent incisor luxator are carnivores, their dentition appears like the anatomy
• Rodent molar/premolar luxator we commonly see in cats. Their dental formula is
• Crossley rabbit luxator 2(I3/3:C1/1:PM3/3:M1/2).
• Rodent molar/premolar extraction forceps
• Rodent mouth gag
• Pouch dilators Hedgehog Dentition
• Molar/premolar rasp
• Rodent tongue depressor (or use regular wooden As a member of the order Insectivora, the oral anatomy
tongue depressor split in half lengthwise) of hedgehogs is very different from other pocket pets.
• Low‐speed burs to use for crown height reduction Anatomical characteristics of insectivores include small,
• High speed burs for use in incisor trimming and extraction long, narrow snouts, and a primitive tooth structure. The
• Rodent molar/premolar cutters if no drill available incisors are used as forceps for picking up small prey,
• Cotton tipped applicators to staunch blood flow from and the canines often resemble incisors or first premo-
extraction sites or absorb fluid from the mouth. lars. Hedgehogs have 30–46 teeth. A complete oral
examination of hedgehogs requires anesthesia or
Oral examination is difficult on an awake pocket pet.
The small, long, narrow oral cavity of pocket pets make chemical restraint because of their self‐protection
behavior of rolling into a tight ball when accosted.
it very difficult to perform an oral examination, often
only being able to examine the anterior portion of the
mouth or front teeth. An otoscope may be useful to
access the cheek teeth of awake rabbits, chinchillas, and Learning Exercise
guinea pigs. The canula can be directed back toward the
teeth and no fingers get bitten in the process. It is best to Make a pocket pet, ferret, and hedgehog section
give them a light sedation or gas mask them to get a in your reference book. Put in the dental formulas
really good look and to fix any issues. and perhaps a list of the dental instruments used
Rabbits and rodents have similar dentition but with on pocket pets.
some differences. The main dental difference between