Dentist is no laughing matter
Inside a diagnostics imaging room, half a dozen staff surrounded a metre-high table on which the young patient was unconscious, awaiting his rendezvous with the dentist.
In this case, the patient was 9-year-old Echo, one of four hyenas at the Toronto Zoo.
On Friday morning at the newly completed, state-of-theart Wildlife Health Centre at the zoo, staff were busy conducting a general checkup of his 56-kilogram body from head to toe. But the main reason Echo was sedated and brought down was because he needed a dental procedure — which turned out to be a root canal.
“The hyenas have very strong teeth, but they do like to chew on the bones and occasionally they damage their teeth,” said Dr. Christopher Dutton, the zoo’s head of veterinary services.
“Interestingly, they don’t really like to show any signs of pain and will just keep on chew- ing bones. If it were you or me with a damaged tooth, we would be crying.”
The new spacious facility makes it easier for the zoo officials to bring in surgeons and dentists to conduct CT scans and operate on various animals, he said.
For Echo, that has meant a visit from Dr. Sharon French, who runs the dentistry services at the Veterinary Emergency Clinic in Toronto.
French, who has been doing this job for 27 years, entered the room pulling a heavy bag full of special equipment for the job. She quickly put on gloves, a mouth-cover and special eyeglasses and started examining Echo’s mouth. After an X-ray was taken, she found out the animal needed a root canal.
Sharp tools were brought out, mouthwash fluids made available, as were boxes of tissues to clean up blood. Just like the usual trip to the dentist — except Echo was unaware of any of this process.
French said carnivores have their teeth buried deep into their jaws, and their ligaments tend to be very bony, which makes the extraction difficult. Her many years of experience have taught her it’s not something that can be rushed.
“I was once forced to take out a lion’s tooth and I think it took me hours and hours,” she said.
“This is also why Dr. French has a massage before coming in, because she knows it’s going to be a long procedure,” Dutton joked.
Ninety minutes later, she was still digging and washing.
“Almost done. I will win,” French said.
Afew minutes later, she raised her fists in celebration and held out the tiny root. Success.
“It’s meat only for him now,” Dutton said.