Animal Dentist Opens Surgery for Big Cats
As well as tigers, lions and jaguars, Brazilian animal dentist Dr Roberto Fecchio has also worked on the smiles of elephants, hippos and rhinos. But focusing his work on fearsome felines, he has now launched a new practice especially for big cats.
35 year old Dr Fecchio aims to improve not just oral hygiene, but the quality of life for these precious predators by lowering their risk of heart, liver and stomach problems, all of which can be caused by poor chewing in wild animals. As one of the world’s few wildlife dentists, some of his pioneering work includes replacing decayed teeth with metal prostheses.
Dr Fecchio has treated big cats in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and South America and is well known for his jaw restoration, root canal and extraction techniques.
Surgery involves a large team of biologists, ecologists, vets and zoologists to accompany the dentist and can take up to five hours to complete.
Sao Paulo University based Dr Fecchino said that big cats rely on their specialised teeth to kill and eat their food, so being left without these teeth could be life-threatening. He added that dental examinations cannot be carried out before surgery on a wild animal, so the team must have all the materials at hand when the animal undergoes anaesthesia.
Join this Discussion
