Teeth trimmed too close! Advice?

[Nysander]

Hey guys, so my 1yr 7mo guy, Bellamy, has developed a bit of a wonky tooth angle where the bottom teeth (especially the left one) spread too wide and eventually slip off away from the top teeth so he can't grind them down properly.

Well we are taking him to the vet about every month when it gets overgrown to have them trimmed.
This is the second trimming. The first trimming went well and they did a great job but this time it looks like they have taken too much off the bottom teeth. There is only about 1/4 inch of the bottom teeth left ( where 1/2 inch would be normal)

Bellamy seems to be having some trouble biting down on hard or crunchy foods. He ate a Gerber puff carefully and it took him a little while ( normally those things only take about 4-5 quick chomps ) and he can't seem to manage his Oxbow chips at all.

My question is how concerned do I need to be right now? Should I just give him softer foods for the next few days and wait it out and not worry, or should I give the vet a small piece of my mind?

Can this be dangerous for him?

[mamarat2]

I'd definitely give him soft foods for the next few days.

Rather than giving the vet a piece of your mind, I'd call and talk to the vet and see possibly what was different with this second trimming or what changed with this time around when they did the tooth trim.  Explain your concerns to the vet about how his teeth look so much shorter and perhaps check to see if you can get some nsaid type of pain to help Bellamy the next few days if he appears to be painful while eating (metacam / meloxicam).

Hope he feels better soon.

[Nysander]

Thanks for your reply!
I didn't mean that I would chew out the vet per se lol, just should I be discussing it with them and making sure they know id rather they didn't trim shorter than 1/2 inch for the bottoms in the future?
Sorry if my wording seemed aggressive, I didn't mean it that way, just protective concerned mama coming through. :3

Anyway, I am mainly curious about how dangerous or problematic is this kind of short trim for him?
Is it likely to screw up where his teeth meet/end up with overgrown top teeth or will it probably just sort itself out?
At 1/4 inch, is he probably in pain from them cutting that short?
I do have infant ibuprofen on hand for a painkiller but I didn't want to jump in with the NSAIDs just in case he might have any bleeding from the trim (i haven't seen any bleeding so I might give him a little later tonight if he still looks like he needs it)

[mamarat2]

If it took him a while to eat a gerber puff and he doesn't want to bite down on hard food then I'd be saying that is painful or uncomfortable for him to eat. something your vet should be aware of for this case and future trimmings.

I'd call the vet. Voice all of these concerns to them, I'm honestly not sure if it is going to cause a problem in the long run but it sounds like it is painful for Bellamy. Also the vet would also hopefully be able to tell you the best pain med to give him. The benefit of a little bleeding from the ibuprofen would probably be better than him being in pain; from the human side I have to take ibuprofen when I have dental work done because my jaw ends up being super painful otherwise from staying open for so long and I don't have bleeding issues.

[BigBen]

Don't worry about the long term; the teeth will grow out.  But do express your concerns about the trouble he seems to be having right now, so they will take more care to get it right next time.  If you can get some Metacam, it would be easier to administer and would stay in his system longer.  Ibuprofen gets cleared from a rat's system in about four hours, their metabolisms are so fast.  Metacam lasts for twenty-four hours.

[lilspaz68]

The gums behind the tooth grow higher up than the fronts so they have to trim just above that gumline. Was your boy awake or lightly anesthetized for his trims? It's possible that they are cutting it shorter so there's a longer period between trims for him (and you). Are they burring or clipping the teeth?
For now just give soft foods until he feels less sensitive.

[Nysander]

Thank you guys!

@lilspaz

They gave him just a whiff of gas so he was sleepy but I think awake for the trimming.
Yeah I suspect they might have been trying to save me more time between trimmings since I explained this time that it was looking like it is going to be a regular thing for him. But I'm still not comfortable with them cutting so close since he is obviously uncomfortable from it and unable to eat properly. I don't think they understand that rats bottom teeth are naturally longer than their tops for a reason.

I think they both clip and burr? Not totally sure since they don't invite me to watch...but im pretty sure they said they do both.