WEIRD SCIENCE

What happens when a tiger gets toothache?

Do you have what it takes to be a tiger dentist?

Have you heard about the tiger who went to the dentist? It sounds like the set-up for a joke but tigers and other big cats need dental care as much as humans do. After all, their fantastic fangs are vital for catching and eating their food. If a tiger has tooth trouble it’s a giant problem; it could even be life-threatening. Damaged teeth, infections and toothaches have to be dealt with quickly and carefully – and that is why the tiger went to the dentist.

Big cats don’t get taken into typical dental surgeries (thankfully). Instead, they’re visited by tiger dentists who work in animal sanctuaries and wildlife parks and zoos. In May, dentists were called to help a poorly carnivore at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park in England, which is home to 10 Bengal tigers. The patient in question was Skah, a 190kg tiger who had a split canine (the large pointy teeth between the front teeth and molar teeth of a mammal). A team of 14 medics worked to provide root-canal surgery, which removed the infected part inside the tooth and fitted a filling. The operation lasted for more than four hours – and people were able to watch it live online.

Of course, it’s not safe for tiger dentists to treat their patients without a little bit of help from another medical expert – an anaesthetist (say an-ees-theh-tist). This is the person who injects a drug that temporarily puts the cat to sleep. Only once the tiger is anaesthetised can the dentists get to work – safe in the knowledge that the animal won’t accidentally harm them.

Barron Hall, an animal dentist at Washington’s National Zoo in the US, explained that the job isn’t as scary as it might sound. “I’m not concerned,” he said. “I’ve done this long enough. I am more concerned about the tiger not waking up than her doing any type of damage to me.”

There are now only an estimated 3,900 tigers remaining in the wild. With populations still dropping in some areas as a result of climate change, habitat loss and poaching, it’s more important than ever that breeding programmes succeed. By looking after these big cats, tiger dentists are playing a vital role in protecting them from extinction – and that’s the tooth.

Nikita, one of Barron Hall’s recent patients.

Carnivores have big canine teeth.