Yorkshire Wildlife Park: Polar bear with sore head sees dentist

Three-year-old Sisu had snapped one of his canines

A dauntless dentist has removed a broken tooth from a 600kg (1,322lb) bear with a sore head.

The hour-long operation on three-year-old polar bear Sisu warded off the possibility of a severe infection.

As well as taking out the damaged gnasher, specialist Dr Peter Kertesz created a new canine for the bear.

"Sisu will now have a perfectly functioning tooth for the rest of his life," said the animal dentist after the procedure in Yorkshire.

Dr Kertesz said the root canal was more than three inches long

The broken tooth was dealt with at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster on Friday.

Staff feared that, unless treated, the broken tooth could become infected, leading to an abscess.

A three-person dental team, including Dr Kertesz, dental nurse Monika Mazurkiewicz and a vet specialised in the use of anaesthetics, operated on the carnivore.

The procedure to remove the tooth and create a new canine took an hour

After the operation, Sisu took a short time to recover but was soon back on his feet

Dr Kertesz said: "It was a standard procedure, where we cleaned out the infected root canal, which was over three inches (7.6cm) long, and filled in the canine.

"We then had to build and shape the tooth, ensuring we kept its length. Sisu will now have a perfectly functioning tooth for the rest of his life."

He added: "After the operation Sisu was standing very quickly, but he was kept in his den to recover fully."

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