Elephant undergoes dental treatment to cure tusk ache
Dentists in India have successfully repaired an elephant’s tusk in a rare dental procedure.
Devidisan, a 27 year old bull elephant, had been suffering from tusk ache for five years. His tusk was cracked and this was contributing to chronic pain. Dentists performed the first operation if its kind and used forty seven tubes of resin to fill the crack in the tusk. The procedure took two and a half hours and the elephant remained conscious throughout.
Dr CV Pradeep, the dentist who carried out the procedure, told the BBC that the elephant seemed much happier after the procedure. Dr Pradeep was able to repair the elephant’s tusk after he recognised that the crack could be filled in the same way as human teeth are repaired. The resin he used was specially formulated to fill the gap and hold the tusk together.
Dr Pradeep said the procedure was a difficult task because the team had to find and adapt specialist equipment; he also said the task was made more difficult by the fact that they could not use X-rays because there wasn’t an X-ray unit big enough for the elephant.
Dr Pradeep, a dental professor from PSM dental school in Trichur, said that the procedure was important because there was a chance that the crack in the tusk could become infected. Dr Pradeep said it was difficult to say how long the repair work would last as this was the first procedure of its kind to be performed; however, he said he hoped that the seal would last for several years.
Devidasan’s owner was keen for the elephant to receive treatment because the crack in his tusk meant that he was not allowed to participate in Hindu festivals; now that his tusk has been repaired he can participate fully in the upcoming festivities.
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