Bai Yun the Giant Panda Undergoes Treatment for a Chipped Tooth
Bai Yun, San Diego Zoo’s resident giant panda, has undergone treatment for a chipped tooth. The 23 year old panda received treatment from an expert dental team on Wednesday.
Pandas chew bamboo for up to 12 hours per day, so their teeth are extremely important. When keepers noticed that Bai Yun had chipped one of the lower teeth, they immediately contacted vets to arrange an appointment to fix the chip. The zoo’s team of vets applied a composite filling to the tooth to enable her to chew properly and prevent any infection from spreading around the tooth.
Bai Yun was given an injection to numb the mouth before vets filled the tooth using dental composite and then set it using a light; they also carried out X-rays before treatment to see if she had any other potential dental problems that needed attention. Now, she will be able to enjoy better function and she can chew bamboo without any pain.
Although bamboo is relatively easy to chew, in order to get the best of the nutrients, pandas must break it down fully and this requires an intensive action and prolonged periods of chewing.
After treatment, vets kept an eye on her and she was taken back to her enclosure to recover.
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