Dentally Incorrect

Treating a Hareline Fracture

FairyTaleDDS
Member since: 08/12/03
Post: 1 of 4
Longtime lurker, first-time poster. The Easter Bunny presented to my office soon after April 4. I made a quip about him being in town to hide eggs, which he did not appreciate (though to be fair, he was in a fair amount of pain). He told the front desk he was actually invited out as part of a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new IHOP just off the freeway, which he said was mildly humiliating, but “money was money.” Later, he’d been at one of the local vegan eateries owned by a family of centaurs and cracked a tooth on an olive pit.

FairyTaleDDS
Member since: 08/12/03
Post: 2 of 4
A little background of rabbit anatomy for those curious: You’re looking at four maxillary incisors and two mandibular incisors. The former, often called “peg” teeth, have a remarkable longitudinal groove on the labial surface. At rest, the mandibular positioning puts them behind the first set of maxillary, so it’s in occlusion with the peg teeth—that is to say, the cheek teeth don’t touch. Premolars and molars are anatomically identical, so judging a bunny’s age by these alone would be a mistake. Then again, I’m a fairy tale dentist, and this is by far the least challenging thing I’ve dealt with lately. Try telling Prince Charming his midline is off. But I digress.

FairyTaleDDS
Member since: 08/12/03
Post: 3 of 4
The patient’s #202 showed clear signs of decay and a fairly noticeable but not irreparable crack. I informed him of his options, and he opted for a tooth-colored filling rather than go the route of planning for a crown. As he put it, he doesn’t have “Santa’s cash to flash around.” (The PPO he’s a part of would have stiffed me anyway, so I’m happy to just fill in cases like this.)

FairyTaleDDS
Member since: 08/12/03
Post: 4 of 4
After I placed a bivalve nasal speculum, the treatment went well, and the patient was happy with the result. I went ahead and finished with a full examination, including radiographic work, as most of the tooth structure of rabbits is actually below the gumline. My assistant, though, did jokingly rub the patient’s foot at one point, which drew considerable side-eye and a scrunch of the nose, which was hard not to find absolutely adorable. He did leave three cecotropes on the way out, which despite explaining to my staff that they’re not actually feces, did little to change the mood while picking them up.