Lack of Association between Exposure to Natural Sunlight and Dental Disease in French Companion Rabbits

Thilliez N,Sylvain Larrat ,Claire Vergneau‐Grosset

doi:10.4172/2574-2868.100013

Abstract

Objective: Dental disease is common in rabbits, with a reported prevalence of 12-38%. Hypovitaminosis D has been suggested as a possible causal factor. This case-control study aimed at determining whether companion rabbits with access to natural sunlight, and thus UVB, had a lower risk of developing dental disease. Methods: A web-based questionnaire was sent to owners to gather data regarding dental health and husbandry of their companion rabbits. Three dependent variables were examined: presence of any dental disease, current or previous incisors malocclusion, and presence of cheek teeth malocclusion. The variable of interest was the frequency of access to an outdoor enclosure as reported by the owner. A causal diagram was used to select potential confounding variables. Variables were checked for collinearity and data was analysed through logistic regressions. Results: The owners of 527 rabbits fully answered the survey. The presence of dental disease, incisor and cheek teeth malocclusions were not significantly associated with the frequency of access to an outdoor enclosure (all P-values>0.05). There was a statistically significant association between the presence of dental disease or cheek teeth malocclusion and age (P-values 0.05). Conclusion: These results suggest that exposure to natural sunlight, as currently performed in rabbits under French latitudes, does not decrease the odds of dental disease. Further studies are warranted to document the role of vitamin D in dental disease and, if indicated, to determine adapted schedules of UVB exposure.

Highlights

Companion rabbits are very common in the United Kingdom and in the United States of America with an estimated population of 1.2 million and 3.2 million rabbits respectively [1,2,3]
Possible causes of dental disease include metabolic bone disease associated with calcium and/or vitamin D deficiencies, vitamin D excess, genetic or congenital factors, trauma, iatrogenic malocclusion and insufficient dental wear because of a lack of abrasive food [5,7,8,10,11,12,13,14]
The results of the current survey contrast with this hypothesis since rabbits given access to outdoor enclosures, and to natural UVB radiation did not have a lower risk of dental disease than rabbits kept indoors

Summary

Introduction

Companion rabbits are very common in the United Kingdom and in the United States of America with an estimated population of 1.2 million and 3.2 million rabbits respectively [1,2,3]. Knowledge of their specific physiology and diseases is becoming relevant for the small animal veterinarians. Teeth length is balanced by attrition and abrasion during mastication [5,7]. Dental disease is undoubtedly among the most common conditions of companion rabbits, with a reported prevalence ranging from 12.2% to 38.1% [8,9]. Possible causes of dental disease include metabolic bone disease associated with calcium and/or vitamin D deficiencies, vitamin D excess, genetic or congenital factors, trauma, iatrogenic malocclusion and insufficient dental wear because of a lack of abrasive food [5,7,8,10,11,12,13,14]

Methods

Results

Conclusion