Chinchillas have 20 teeth – four incisors at the front (two each in the upper and lower jaws), then in both the upper and the lower jaws they have two premolars, and six molars (1 premolar and 3 molars each side of the upper and lower jaws). An adult chinchillas teeth should be a sort of yellow/orange colour - white teeth can indicate a severe lack of calcium in the diet, but may indicate in imbalance of vitamins and minerals in the diet. A baby chinchilla however is born with white teeth that gradually colour up as they grow.
A chinchillas teeth are open-rooted and grow continuously, and therefore must be worn down continuously, and correctly, to prevent problems. Any problems due to diet or hereditary problems are not likely to become apparent until the chin is two or three years of age.
For any suspected tooth problem it is extremely important to take your chin along to the vet as soon as you possibly can. If surgery is required then treatment is best undertaken before the chin loses too much weight and weakens through lack of food.
Each tooth needs an opposing tooth to ensure even wear. If a tooth is removed but the tooth root remains then the tooth can regrow, however if no root remains then the remaining (opposing) tooth will overgrow and will cause eating problems. Apart from missing teeth, the main cause of overgrown teeth is a lack of fibre in the diet, and a lack of chewing material.
When teeth become loose in their sockets they can become misaligned - instead of pointing straight up, or straight down they may lean at a slight angle - this can cause uneven wear. Eventually spurs may form - these can be sharp, inflicting cuts to the mouth and tongue causing pain when eating, the cuts may also become infected.
As already mentioned overgrown teeth or spurs are more common in older animals. Reasons for overgrown teeth include trauma to the teeth, and an unsuitable diet - the best way of preventing problems is a good diet - hay and pellets are best, the most essential item in the diet being a good quality hay. A tough, fibrous hay is the best thing to help wear teeth down as it promotes a proper side-to-side chewing motion, and is nutritious too.
Both incisors and molars can be affected - symptoms include difficulty eating, and reaching their paw to their mouth frequently.
A visit to the vet is essential. The vet will be able to see the front teeth, but it is more difficult to examine the molars. The vet may use an otoscope to look inside the mouth and may also use a device to hold the mouth open and keep the jaw muscles out of the way; but use of such a device to hold open the mouth of a chin which is awake is very rare. Even when using an otoscope problems can easily be missed, so for a full and proper investigation of teeth problems it is necessary to anaesthetise the chinchilla.
The vet may trim the affected teeth to remove the overgrowth or spur using a small bone cutter, file, or drill. In many cases this treatment will need to be repeated every 6-8 weeks. If there is any infection then antibiotics may be given to clear this up.
Tooth root elongation (often referred to as malocclusion) occurs when the roots of the teeth grow into the jaw, e.g. the roots of the upper teeth may grow upwards towards the eye socket, or the roots of the lower teeth may grow downwards into the jawbone.
The incursion of the roots into the jaw causes chronic pain, and can result in the chinchilla not eating. Often there are no obvious signs of teeth problems from a simple visual inspection - an x-ray is required to correctly diagnose this.
Malocclusion actually refers to the incorrect alignment of the upper and lower teeth causing the teeth not to meet properly, and causing uneven wear resulting in tooth overgrowth and spurs - therefore its use to describe tooth root elongation is misleading.
It has been suggested that tooth root elongation may be due to a diet with insufficient fibrous food resulting in insufficient wearing of the teeth. Since the teeth continue growing the roots end up growing through the jaw forming bumps on the jaw.
Signs of upper jaw tooth root elongation:
Signs of lower jaw tooth root elongation:
In both cases the chin may eat slowly, leave a lot of powdered food in it's food bowl, and in advanced stages will not eat, and will refuse treats.
In November 2003 Chico was diagnosed as having tooth root elongation - his teeth are nice and straight, with no spurs, but his upper teeth have started growing upwards towards his eye socket. In keeping with the theory regarding it being caused by lack of fibrous food, Chico has never been keen on eating his hay. The treatment my vet has advised appears to be aimed at ensuring the teeth are kept worn down, combined with increasing the density of the jawbone. The treatment is as follows:
Chico is receiving 1 drop of metacam a day for pain relief, and because he lost so much weight I am also supplementing his food by syringe feeding him once a day to help him put on weight.
There is also a surgical procedure that can be used - In Britain, in October 2002 vets attempted a procedure, previously used on rabbits. The operation involves making an incision under the chinchillas chin, and a small drill is used to drill out the roots of all the lower teeth - over time new bone develops around the teeth roots. Since the roots are now dead overgrowth ceases to take place. Once the chinchilla recovers from the operation the teeth can be used normally, and a normal diet can be fed.
There are two drawbacks: the first is that because the roots are dead the teeth stop growing and over the years will wear down, but in the meantime the chin can live a normal life. The second drawback is that only the teeth in the lower jaw can be treated in this manner.
It may not be possible to completely clear up an abscess, leading to a later recurrence. Following examination and x-rays the treatment consists of removing affected teeth and surgical removal of affected tissue. Osteomyelitis may also occur.
This is an inflammation of the bone or bone marrow in the jaw due to infection caused by bacteria in plaque around the gums.
The best prevention for this is to restrict treats (especially sugary ones), and ensure that there is plenty of fibre in the diet. Successful treatment would require antibiotics.
A few owners have reported tooth cavities in their chinchillas - this is another reason to avoid feeding sugary treats.
Supplements can be given to improve the health of teeth (and bones):
Calcium is good for building healthy bones and teeth, however 75% of calcium consumed is excreted in the faeces, and two percent is lost in the urine and sweat (this is in humans - remember that chinchillas do not sweat).
Vitamin C maintains healthy gums and helps prevent loosening of the teeth.
A mix of calcium carbonate and vitamin C powders can be used to dust pellets prior to feeding; however calcium and vitamin C are not the only requirements. To maintain healthy bones and teeth then you need to look at the correct balance of calcium, phosphorous, vitamin D and protein because many vitamins and minerals depend on the presence of others to be utilised fully:
Amongst other things a lack of vitamin D can result in calcium deficiency and high phytate consumption (phytic acid is a phosphorus containing acid compound found in many grains and seeds particularly oatmeal and whole wheat) as a result insoluble calcium phytate is formed which will contribute to calcium deficiency.
Therefore we see that requirements for calcium, phosphorus and vitamins D, A and C are linked. It is believed that the ideal ratio of calcium to phosphorous is 2 calcium:1 phosphorus, with the minimum ratio being 1:1. A diet too high in calcium can result in a phosphorus deficiency and impaired metabolic function; whereas a diet too high in phosphorus results in the body producing calcium phosphate rendering the calcium unusable.
The good news is that hay, together with dried grass products such as Readigrass and Supa Forage Excel has a natural balance of calcium to phosphorus. Most quality chinchilla pellets are also correctly balanced - if in doubt read the nutritional analysis label.
The bad news is that cereals and grains such as oats, wheatgerm and barley contain much more phosphorus than calcium, therefore they should be fed sparingly, e.g. calcium to phosphorus values are Oats 0.05%/0.34%, and Wheatbran/germ 0.13%/1.13% - much more than the recommended 2:1.
A point of interest here - if a low calcium diet results in insufficient calcium being available in the small intestine, vitamin D in combination with a para-thyroid hormone will cause the bones to release sufficient calcium and phosphorus into the blood stream to maintain various body functions.
If blood calcium is not kept stable, disturbances of nerve function can result in muscle twitching and spasms.
Examples of problems:
Recommendations:
When breeding chinchillas consider the possibility that problems such as malocclusion may be hereditary, therefore chins suffering from this should not be bred, and any offspring should also not be allowed to breed. Also bear in mind that no problem may be apparent until the chin becomes two or three years old - if you have a chinchilla who appears perfect, but you do not know anything about its parents then that chinchilla should not be bred - if you do allow it to breed, it would be best to wait until it is three or four years old to allow any problems to come to light first.
