Tiny Teeth, Big Problems: The Tooth About Small Mammal Dentistry

Dental disease is one of the most common and clinically significant conditions in small mammals, particularly herbivores such as rabbits, guinea pigs, and chinchillas. Their unique dental anatomy, with continuously growing (elodont) teeth, predisposes them to malocclusion and related complications. Other rodent species, ferrets, and hedgehogs present different patterns of dental pathology, but oral disease is equally impactful. These notes provide an overview of anatomy, clinical presentation, diagnostics, treatment, and prevention of dental disease in general in small mammals.