Eva's Overgrown Teeth Page

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Overgrown front teeth

Overgrown front teeth usually have one of two known causes: hereditary or the piggy haven't eaten much for a while! If it is hereditary it will come back and you might end up clipping your piggie's teeth for the rest of his/her life. It is good to know that hereditary teeth problems is uncommon in guinea pigs. If your piggy has not eaten much lately you should take him/her to the vet as soon as possible! A piggy that does not eat might soon die...

Guinea pigs can not get overgrown teeth from not having things to gnaw on, since they sharpen their teeth against the other teeth. The front teeth are sharpened upper teeth against lower teeth. Gnawing material has nothing to do with this.

But if a guinea pig loses his upper front teeth he cannot sharpen his lower front teeth against them, and vice versa, then he might need to have those cut a few times until the lost teeth has grown back again. It is rather common for a cavy to lose a front tooth or two from running around in the cage and hitting the cage wall teeth first. If the owner does not take care to check the teeth regularly such an accident might easily cause overgrown front teeth.

Overgrown molars

The molars might also grow too long, or get sharp edges, making it difficult or impossible for your piggy to eat. If you suspect that this has happened - see a vet!

Symptoms:

The guinea pig is eating less, but otherwise seems healthy.
The guinea pigs is chewing in a strange way, the movement of the jaw during chewing is not as it use to be.

If a cavy gets sick he will eat less and therefore he will not wear down his teeth as he usually does. Both molars and front teeth may get overgrown just because the cavy is otherwise sick and eating poorly. It is of utmost importance to syringe feed a cavy who does not eat because it is sick. The cavy need to be fed things to chew, mashed carrots, gruel and whatever. (Cavies happily chew on most things you feed them, but make sure the cavy chews and not just swallows!)

What happens when the cavy's molars grow to long?

Molars and premolars may turn to the outside of the mouth and embed themselves into the cheeks.
Molars and premolars might grow inwards and meet, thus forming a bridge of teeth over the tongue.
This cavy will be unable to eat on his own, these teeth badly need cutting.
This cavy may also be having troubles swallowing, because the teeth interfere with the movements of his tongue.

How do you examine a cavy for overgrown molars?
There are three different ways to do it!

Insert a finger into the cavy's mouth and feel the teeth. The molars reside quite far back in the cavy's mouth.
In the USA, plastic syringes come in plastic tube-like cases that have caps on both ends. A vet can take a syringe case and remove both ends. Then the vet can put the lighted instrument they use to check ears and throats, and insert it into the wide end of the syringe case. The narrow end may now be inserted into the cavy's mouth. It keeps the mouth open and provides good lighting so any problem may be seen, while the expensive instrument is protected from being chewed on.
(This great tip came from Kathy Wilson, a big thank you Kathy on behalf of every cavy that may benefit from it!)
Sometimes you can feel the sharp edges through the cheek!

Often it is only in one side that the molars are overgrown.

General Care

Did you know that gps often have sore mouths long after their teeth problems have been corrected? They may have sores in the mouth (from sharp teeth) that need to heal. I would continue giving baby food. I would also try to cut things like parsley in small bits and give the cavy just a little bit to chew now and then. The baby food I would mix with stuff that may get the cavy to actually "chew" the baby food! The cavy has a better chance of recovery if it actually chews its baby food! I am not good at English so this is hard for me to describe, but the cavy really need to chew its food, even if it consists of mainly gruel, to keep the molars in shape. If the cavy cannot chew that maybe the vet did not remove ALL the offending pieces of long tooth, or maybe the cavy is still too much sore in its mouth.

I have hand fed many sick gps, and the chewing thing I have learned from experience (both mine and other people's).

Medical

When the vet is cutting the overgrown teeth of your guinea pig he may want to use anesthesia, but that is to take unnecessary chances. There is actually no need for anesthesia when cutting the molars of a guinea pig. Your vet should buy and use buccal pad separators instead, which is much safer for the guinea pig. With these the pig's mouth can be held open while clipping the offending teeth. If the guinea pig is well wrapped in a big towel he will not make much of a fuss about it.

Your vet can buy these buccal pad separators from the Cambridge Cavy Trust in the UK.

Cambridge Cavy Trust
Top Farm Bungalow
Alconbury Hill
Alconbury
Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire
PE17 5EW
United Kingdom