In each installment of this series, I discussed a different type of
dental problem in ferrets.  All of the problems can be traced to a few
simple problems: simple, yes, but with far-reaching health consequences.
You simply cannot predict if or how some of these problems will impact
your ferret, or if they will cause debilitating disease.  For example,
almost half of all ferrets studied had lost a tooth through extreme
wear or periodontal disease.  If you have a single ferret, the chance is
pretty good you will have a problem.  What if you have two ferrets?  How
about 10 ferrets?  What if you are a shelter with 50 ferrets?  The only
ethical and safe course of action is to assume you WILL have the problem
and initiate a vigorous prevention program to insure your ferret s dental
health.
 
You will note I did not address such issues as fabric chewing or
pathological grooming in terms of dental wear.  I am sure they exist and
are a contributing factor to the problem of dental wear in ferrets, and
I am positive a means can be determined to identify them.  However, to
be able to specifically determine these types of wear would require a
prolonged study of scanning electron micrographs made of normal and
damaged teeth.  With time on scanning electron microscopes (SEM) costing
more than $100 per hour (cheap because I am a trained SEM operator), it
would require a substantial grant to be able to perform the study, as
well as the donation of dozens of ferrets that are known fabric chewers
or pathological groomers.  Nonetheless, the fact is these types of wear
are insignificant to the overall problem of dental wear in ferrets
because their numbers to not exceed the range of error for damage caused
by kibble.  While some ferrets will have dental wear from chewing fabric
or other objects, the damage caused by kibble is so universal and so
damaging that other types of wear become insignificant in comparison.
 
Three things have a tremendous impact on ferret dental health: cage
biting, dietary tooth wear, and periodontal disease.  Cage biting
causes extreme and significant wear to the backs of the canines and the
tops of the front premolars.  In the canines, this wear will produce
micro-fractures, rub away the enamel and form deep grooves in the
dentine, and can cause enough wear to ultimately lead to the tooth
snapping off without warning.  Because cage wear occurs to the back of
the tooth, when the tooth finally does give way it may result in a
slab fracture to the front of the tooth.  Cage biting harms the front
premolars as well, grinding off the tops and front edges of the teeth,
leading to fractures and tooth loss.
 
Ferrets bite at their cages when trying to escape and, perhaps, to some
degree from frustration or boredom.  Because they do it WHEN they want
out and BECAUSE they want out, and because it is instinctive, it is
extremely difficult to convince them to stop.  The only real solution
is to allow the ferret to live outside the cage (AKA: free roam), but
that is hardly practical for many ferret owners, and it doesn t cure
the problem if you take your ferret to the vet inside a pet carrier.
Increasing the ferret s time outside the cage might be of some help.
Adding additional play periods might also reduce cage biting, but no
guarantee.  Plastic-covered wire can benefit, but as soon as the plastic
is worn from the wire it no longer helps.  Perhaps the best solution for
ferrets that insist on cage biting is to use a cage that prevents biting
and tugging.  The mesh should be small enough to prevent a ferret from
hooking their teeth over the wire.  Pet carriers with steel doors seem
specially designed to allow ferrets to use their teeth to tug at the
door; I recommend cutting a piece of 1/4 in. hardware cloth to fit the
inside of the door and wiring it in place to prevent cage biting.  If you
have a ferret as determined as my Popeye is to get out of pet carriers,
you can try my solution--I used the plans out of a British ferreting
guide to build a wooden ferreting box that I use for transportation to
the vet.  For those that always seem to find a way to bite sections of
the cage, switching to a wood or perforated Plexiglas cage may be the
only solution.  This is a potentially serious problem for shelters, where
ferrets are frequently housed in metal cages, many with wide mesh and no
protective coating.  I suggest they identify ferrets with a cage-biting
problem, and then place them in bite-proofed cages.
 
Kibble has a tremendous impact on the wear done to a ferret s teeth;
perhaps more than any other factor simply because they are exposed to it
so often.  Kibble is extremely hard and abrasive and ferrets that eat
kibble will have significant wear to their teeth; it simply cannot be
stopped.  It doesn t matter which brand of kibble you buy, they ALL cause
the problem.  Kibble causes dental wear facets to shift from the normal
side-of-the-crown position to the top of the tooth.  The teeth are not
designed to withstand the physical forces caused by this change and they
wear down a rate 3 or 4 times faster than if the ferret was eating a
wild diet.  As the enamel is worn off the tooth, the underlying dentine
is exposed and the wear rate increases.  As the wear rate increases,
micro-fractures in the enamel proliferate, weakening the tooth and
increasing the chances of an infection in the pulp chamber.  When the
tooth wears down to near the gumline the tooth will stress fracture
between the roots.  When this happens the tooth is basically lost, but
until the roots are removed and tissues heal, the ferret runs the risk of
a major infection that can spread into the bone and throughout the body.
[Posted in FML issue 4524]