Author: Lani Ritchey
of California Chins
ALWAYS LOOK A GIFT CHINCHILLA
IN
THE MOUTH
Back to the classroom-just a few definitions
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arcade ------ | row of teeth
| | dental pulp -- | soft core within the tooth containing nerves and blood vessels
| | dentin -------- | calcium containing material similar to but harder than bone. Vitamin C is vital to the manufacture of dentin in Guinea pigs. What about in chinchillas? In most mammals, it comprises most of the tooth
under the enamel. In chinchillas, it comprises all of the molar and the back side of the incisors.
| | enamel ------ | calcium containing material substance thinly coating the incisor teeth and interwoven into the molar teeth, except for the chinchilla. Only the front half of the incisors is covered in enamel. Enamel is the hardest material in the body.
| | Incisors ----- | the front teeth in the case of chinchillas- two top and two bottom. They are used for cutting rather than grinding.
| | molar tooth-- | cheek tooth, in the chinchilla, a total of sixteen teeth- four on each side, top/bottom of jaw inside the cheek. Used for grinding.
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Veterinary dentistry
Considering the value of some livestock, you would think veterinary dentistry was as advanced as human dentistry. With bulls and stallions going for as much as a half million dollars ($500,OOO)or more and the "Top Ten" showdogs going for a cool ten thousand dollars($10,OOO), you should always check their teeth( and balls). And the same goes for a five hundred dollar ($500) chinchilla male. Look at it this way, divide fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) by two thousand pounds (2000 Ibs bull), the value per pound equals twenty-five dollars/pound ($25/Ib). Now divide five hundred dollars ($500) by one point five pounds (1.5Ibs) and it equals three hundred and thirty three dollars /pound($333/1b). Hadn't you better take care of that investment ?
Toothy troubles
Tooth problems can be broken into three areas-embryonic, developmental, and management.
Management can solve some of the "wear and tear" problems. It is to the greater profit to eliminate what are usually bad husbandry practices or compounding problems through ignorance. Embryonic and developmental problems may be inheritable, congenital or management caused.
Inherited tooth problems are a breeder's nightmare. Man (and woman) (let's not be sexist) created in the name of fashion some of the worst tooth problems in the livestock industry .It is one thing to breed a problem out of ignorance. It is quite another to do it because it is fashionable and therefore profitable. Eventually the animal buying public and their veterinarians will protest and "fashion" will swing the other direction.
It wasn't that long ago that Burmese kittens were being born with horrible cranial deformities. The Siamese cat breed is split between the "apple-headed" type and the extreme triangular" Oriental" type. Arabian horses are being bred for extremely refined lower jaws with robust upper jaws. Bulldogs have the dubious pleasure of having a tooth/jaw problem after their pronounced jaw.
Remember when breeding animals-no matter what the fashion is, they still need to eat !
Nipped in the bud (that is the tooth bud! )
Given how many changes occur in an embryo from conception to birth, it is a miracle that everything usually comes out right. But not always!
The dentigerous-retention cysts is a miniature mouth that got lost. It generally gets found just below or in front of the ear. It causes one hell of a mess and surgery is not always successful. Obviously for chinchillas, it would be impossible to operate ( the success rate on horses, cats, dogs, and humans is none too good either). But any animal found with this condition should be sent to a veterinary school for research.
Another type of dental cyst appears shortly after birth. A primordial cyst is a defect of the tooth bud- the cellular foundation of the tooth. It grows out from either the tooth or the gum. The periodontal cyst is an out-pouching of the root of a fully erupted tooth. Since the chinchilla is born with four fully erupted incisor teeth and twelve out of sixteen molars erupted, it could be one of the possible explanations for bumps on a chinchilla jaw.
Malocclusions
Pity the rodents and lagomorphs, they are all born with a parrot mouth so to speak. One strike against rodent and lagomorph jaws, but absolutely essential for their ecological niche. Toothy disasters just waiting to happen. Malocclusions generally begins in the embryonic state. Yes, they are genetic in origin and they may be inherited. In this case, the blueprint of chinchilla DNA is coded for the slight overlap of the upper jaw over the lower jaw.
Genuine inherited malocclusions refer to parrot mouth, sow mouth and bulldog mouth. Malocclusions happen when the opposing sets of teeth fail to align properly. Trauma (broken jaws, TMJ disorder, missing teeth, extra teeth and impacted teeth) can also cause malocclusions- "bad bite".
Parrot mouth refers to a massive overbite with the upper jaw triggering the misalignment. Sow mouth or bulldog mouth is where the lower jaw protrudes. Technically when dentists talk about malocclusion, they are referring to these two inherited conditions. When non technical people refer to malocclusion, they lump anything that causes a misalignment of the "bite" into malocclusions. I think there is a slight problem of communication here. In the years I have been raising chinchillas, I have never seen a bulldog mouth or parrot mouth. But I have certainly seen other problems in the mouth!
The rabbit industry feels that one of the main causes of "buck teeth" is the mating of rabbits with different head formations (Herschbach 1994). It is most apparent in breeds having short, wide, or curved heads. The rabbit industry got into trouble when they attempted to breed the giant breeds with the petite breeds. The different head shapes and growth rates caused many problems.
Developmental problems
Most people think older animals have all the teeth problems. It is really neglected problems from the growing period that come to plague the mature or older animal. Nutritional deficiencies-the improper calcium to phosphorus ratio, lack of the correct Vitamin D at a critical time can leave the teeth and bones too soft or cause poor development. Fluorine is a good guy/bad guy mineral- too much leaves the bone and teeth damaged but too little fluorine is equally bad.
There are a number of Vitamin deficiencies and toxicities that cause drooling or slobbers. You can read more about that situation in the VITAMIN REQUIREMENT FOR FUR BEARING ANIMALS by Hoffman-La Roche. The species, they are talking about are mink and fox, but the vitamin related problems are consistent in other mammal species. Slobbering problems from nutritional imbalances are well documented in the livestock industry. Early trauma-falls from cages, kicks to the jaw can setup misalignments that will plague the animal. Clipping or filing of baby teeth can damage the tooth bud or crack the tooth socket that holds the tooth in the jaw.
While management can not prevent all traumas, some ranch practices could be changed. It might be more profitable in the long run to do so. Nutritional deficiencies/excesses should be addressed. The addition of a mineral block formulated with the proper Ca/P ratio to pregnant and growing animals' cages might be a simple and inexpensive way to prevent some problems. Certainly providing gnawing items wouldn't hurt chinchillas and their teeth.
What is so wise about about Wisdom Teeth?
Actually they have nothing to do with wisdom and for most people, they are very painful and a large nuisance in your mouth. How do they relate to chinchilla teeth? Well, chinchilla teeth along with horses and humans get impacted. Impaction occurs when the path of an erupting tooth is partially or completely blocked by the adjacent teeth. Obviously impaction sets things into motion and many things can go wrong. We humans are very familiar with impacted teeth ! When the last molars (wisdom) teeth erupt in our jaws, they tend to push and shove the other teeth blocking them. At that moment impaction problems can occur.
The last four molars in the chinchilla's mouth erupt when the chinchilla is one month old. However like wisdom teeth, if the jaw size cannot accommodate the size and number of teeth coming in, something has to give. A tooth or several teeth will be shoved out of alignment and major "bite" problems will manifest themselves later on. If there are lumps and bumps shifting and moving about on the jaws, it is highly probable that impaction is occurring. If the chinchilla is still growing, there is a chance that the teeth and jaw might correct the problem themselves. Otherwise from a practical point, the type of surgery needed to correct this type of tooth problem in chinchillas is impossible.
Always use CREST toothpaste
Chinchillas can get caries (cavities). The most logical assumption is that chinchilla caries occur the same way as human and horse caries do. If so, an erosive process takes place and the bacterial invasion may be linked to a deficiency of protective factors in saliva
Of course if you can get caries or break teeth, the abcesses can occur. (Funny thing, chinchillas seem to have the same teeth problems we humans have !) Tooth abcesses in chinchillas, may have a foul mouth odor and foul drainage from the mouth. And lots of drooling (slobbers)!!! Abscesses are a treatable problem. The teeth can be extracted if they don't fall out when probed. Antibiotics will be needed. The after surgery care and followup procedures are extremely important. Only very valuable animals or most beloved pets warrant this difficult and expensive treatment.
Points, spurs and hooks
We are assuming that chinchilla teeth continue to grow throughout their lifetime. That used to be approved theory on horse teeth. The current theory for horses is that all the "tooth" they will ever have is already in the jaw and teeth erupt rather than grow. What about chinchilla teeth? Do they really grow or do they erupt?
The collagen fibers that hold teeth secure in their sockets need Vitamin C for "holding power". Without enough Vitamin C in the diet, Guinea pigs and degus teeth begin to shift and move out of alignment. Both of these species are in the same family as the chinchilla. The current recommendation of Vitamin C for Guinea pigs and degus are 100-200mg per day. It is very probable that chinchillas need the same amount of Vitamin C .Vitamin C can be used as an antioxidant in feed rations, instead of a commercial premix. There is a 3Oday stable form of Vitamin C available for pelleting.
Ever growing (or erupting) teeth are dynamic. The slightest change in the grinding pattern will disrupt the tooth alignment. If there is the slightest misalignment between the upper and lower jaws, the upper front molar and the lower back molar will develop hooks or points on the tooth. These hooks can become so long they can puncture the opposing gum. To say the least, this makes chewing painful.
Mother Nature has also dealt herbivores from a stacked deck when it comes to jaw size and shape. Most herbivore jaws are not equally wide. The lower jaw is just slightly more narrow than the upper jaw. This is normal but it sets the teeth up for problems.
The ideal jaw/molar setup would grind away evenly but that isn't what happens when you have a slightly narrower bottom jaw. As the jaws move from side to side, grinding the feedstuffs to swallowing size, the lower molars never quite reach the outer edge of the upper molars. And the upper molars never reach the inner edge of the lower arcade of molars. So the outside edge of the upper arcade and the inside edge of the lower arcade get very long and razor sharp. So sharp these edges can lacerate the cheeks (outside upper) and the tongue(inside lower). Talk about pain !!! The term "spurs" describes the problem completely!
But these are all treatable. A veterinary dentist can drill (just like the one our dentists use), grind, or nip those cruel points, hooks and spurs off. There are some pros and cons about which tool to use.
Mouth from Hell
Shear mouth is a veterinary dentist's nightmare. It starts early in life but generally doesn't get found until it is too late. It can occur in animals whose lower jaw is too narrow but is usually found in animals that have had untreated long term teeth problems.
Once the angle of the grinding surface exceeds beyond the "normal" 15 degrees, the teeth rapidly get worse. The extremely long and sharp inside/outside edges may become impaled in the tongue or cheeks. Agony!
Leave it for the tooth fairy
Missing teeth can be "lost" in two ways. One way is due to broken teeth or abcessed teeth. The other way requires some investigation. Do chinchillas get all their teeth? Or are they like humans (and a few breeds of dogs) that do not get a full set of teeth. There are people who never lose their "baby" teeth. And some of us never get a full set of adult teeth either. When teeth are missing, there is no opposable surface to grind the opposing tooth against. It just keeps growing and growing until it penetrates the empty socket. This is not a good thing!
The opposite problem is having too many teeth! It is just possible for a embryonic glitch to cause extra teeth to grow. The most obvious result would be a horrible case of impaction. I personally can relate to this problem. I had five wisdom teeth removed!
Open Wide
Why go to a veterinary dentist? 'There are several reasons for visiting a veterinary dentist with your chinchilla or chinchillas. The first one is dental treatments for a chinchilla. Obviously the cost of the treatments, availability of a dental DVM, the value of the animal and the cause of the dental problem are factors in whether or not to treat. If it is a genetic dental malformation then the animal should be eliminated from the breeding herd. If the disorder is extremely unique then the animal should be studied. The research published in veterinary journals.
If the dental problem is a nutritional problem or trauma related injury and the animal could be restored to breeding condition then the question of treatment revolves around the value of the animal versus the cost of treatments. If many animals are developing the same kind of problem, the Veterinary DVM's advice and knowledge about nutritional/ management problems could be invaluable.
There is evidence coming from the UK, that the hardness of feed pellets can create tooth problems. If the feed pellet is too soft (you can crush between your fingers or excess fines in bottom of feed bag), the animal will not exercise the jaw and grind the teeth down correctly. If the pellets are too hard, the animal can break teeth, thus creating tooth problems. Also feeds high in any type of sugar (glucose, dextrose, sucrose, lactose, maltose, fructose, etc) will cause caries (cavities) in chinchillas.
The new recommendation for equine dental health is the feeding of two types of hay or having access to pasture. Michigan (2002) discovered that coarse hays like oats, wheat and alfalfa make the horse chew (and wear down the teeth) from back and front. By also feeding a softer hay like timothy, brome, blue grass, fescue or fresh pasture, the horse chewed from side to side. That balances the wear and tear on the teeth. It is easy enough for chinchilla, rabbit and guinea pig owners to offer two types of hay to their animals.
For the pet owner, the health and physical wellbeing of a beloved pet is paramount. However cost of treatments and the pain and suffering of an animal going through potentiallly unsuccessful surgery must be considered. Remember chinchilla dental medicine is the brave new frontier of the unknown.
Not all problems will be treatable.
New Frontiers
Together we can bring chinchilla medicine and veterinary dental science into the 21st century. Armed with new techniques for noninvasive viewing of mouths, better X-ray and antibiotics, new knowledge about genetic and nutritional disorders, we can breed better chinchillas and keep them healthier.
Things to do and questions to ask....
1) 'Start a skull collection of healthy and unhealthy animals. each skull must be labeled by sex, age at death and coat colour. We do not know which factor could be important in tooth problems.
2) Get involved in your local veterinary school's Dept. of Radiology or School of Veterinary Medicine. If you don't have a veterinary school near you, locate a veterinary dentist or a human dentist that is interested in pathological , nutritional/developmental dental problems. Offer them all publishing rights if they will study the skulls. Heck, offer to type the papers!
3) Track dental problems by categories. If you are having too many management caused problems, determine the most cost effective solution - Management problems would be nutritional, broken jaws/teeth/missing teeth due to infections. The questions to ask are- why are teeth/jaws breaking or what minerals/metals/vitamins are lacking /excessive in their diets ?
4) Spot check animal's mouths. Examine enough animals at various ages to determine what age most dental problems start at. After all, why wait to treat dental problems at the advanced stages. It should be more cost effective to treat dental problems early before they get too bad.
5) Spot check animal's mouths. Examine enough animals at various ages to determine what age most dental problems start at. After all, why wait to treat dental problems at the advanced stages. It should be more cost effective to treat dental problems early before they get too bad.
6) Determine if missing teeth is a genetic problem/nutritional (scurvy/Vitamin C deficiency)/trauma. Genetic problems can be weeded out by a test breeding program. Nutritional problems require knowledge about the nutritional requirements of the chinchilla. Vitamin C deficiency and scurvy are definitely linked to tooth loss and gum problems. Caries can be due to nutritional or trauma (chipping to teeth, breaking teeth, or exposing the pulp cavity). Broken jaws may have teeth knocked out. Abcessed teeth can rot away, leaving an empty socket to trigger alignment problems.
References
Lieberman, Bobbie, OPEN WIDE ...A CATALOG OF TOOTHY TROUBLES, EQUUS,74,DEC. 1983,Pages 36,38,39,40,41.
Moore,Jack, TOOTH TRIUMPHS AND TROUBLES, EQUUS, 178, August 1992, Pages 40,41,42,44,77, 78, 79,80,81.
MORE ON TEETH, RABBITS USA, Nov/Dec1994, Page19
Shinitzky,Ami, THE TRUTH ABOUT TEETH, EQUUS, 18,ApriI 1979, Pages 34,35,36,37,38,39,68, 69
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