If you thought dental problems and root canal surgeries were only for humans, think again!
Sloth bears rescued by charity group Wildlife SOS, too, undergo various endodontic procedures and dental health care, noted a release issued by the group on Tuesday.
Suffer mutilation
“Wildlife SOS is a well-known animal rescue and rehabilitation group and has rescued over 628 bears from the centuries-old dancing bear practice. The rescued sloth bears are unfit to be released into the wild as they have suffered mutilation, severe physical and psychological trauma as well as chronic medical problems,” said Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO, Wildlife SOS.
He explained that most of these bears have been subjected to painful trauma of having their delicate muzzle pierced by hot iron pokers and their teeth forcibly removed.
“The stubs of the broken teeth left untreated by the negligent kalandar owners, often led to dental infections due to exposed roots, rotting of teeth and mouth ulcerations. More importantly, the overall health of the bear gets severely compromised by the bacterial infections and permanent canine teeth damage. This poisons the blood stream with bacteria causing significant amount of pain and severe discomfort to the animals,” Mr. Satyanarayan said.
Centres well-equipped
The Wildlife SOS rescue centres, according to the vets here, are equipped with state of the art equipment like digital dental X-ray, dental suite, thermal imaging camera, operation theatre, etc., to carry out specialised veterinary care.
“The organisation’s veterinary experts have transformed the lives of the bears that were living with abscesses, infections and broken teeth,” said Arun A. Sha, director, Research and Veterinary Operations, Wildlife SOS.
The veterinary team has received training from experts from around the world and has actively presented their papers at important wildlife veterinary and research conferences as well as published journals on veterinary dental procedures.
Dr. Sha said, “The dental treatment has brought significant improvement in the overall health and general behaviour of the bears.”
“Dental issues can be troublesome and painful for the bears, and the constant discomfort causes them to eat less, play less and feel generally miserable, as the pain supersedes everything else. It is reassuring to see that our efforts are making a positive difference to their lives,” he said. The organisation has provided — root canal surgeries, tooth extractions and treatment for mouth infections for its rescued bears.
