Rescued sloth bears undergo successful dental procedures in Bengaluru

Rescuing hundreds of bears from Qalandars and rehabilitating at various rescue centres including the one at Bannerghatta Biological Park on the outskirts of Bengaluru over the years, the Wildlife SOS achieved yet another feat by successfully conducting various dental procedures on bears a few days ago. The veterinarians at the Wildlife SOS, trained by the experts from UK, not only successfully carried out the root-canal and difficult dental surgeries on ailing bears but also provided them with much need relief from the excruciating pain.

The veterinarians led by Dr Arun A Sha, Director of Research and Veterinary operations carried out the dental procedures. Kartick Satyanarayan, CEO and Co-founder of Wildlife SOS said, “Dental hygiene is not just important for humans but for these rescued sloth bears as well. These 600-plus bears, rescued from dancing practice, have suffered mutilation besides physical and psychological trauma due to piercing of their delicate muzzle with hot iron pokers and forcible removal of their teeth unscientifically.”

According to treating veterinarians, these injuries sans medical attention has resulted in dental infection, rotting of teeth and mouth ulcerations as common problems among these rescued sloth bears. “Any delay or decline of dental care can lead to compromising of the health of the bear. Bacterial infections and permanent canine teeth damage are negative outcomes of declining oral health, often leading to poisoning of the bloodstream,” explained Dr Arun Sha. Due to intense pain and discomfort, many sloth bears give up on eating and socialising, leading to severe damage to the health conditions.

Dr Ilayaraja, Deputy Director of Veterinary Services at the centre said, “We have been regularly providing dental care and offering services like root canal if there is minimal damage, tooth extraction in case of irreversible damage due to infected abscesses and dental scaling and also to clean up tartar build-up.” A few days ago, a sloth bear named Durga had developed dental issues and during X-ray examination it was discovered that her right upper and left lower canines were dead. “After the standard root canal treatment, her condition showed improvement quickly and she is more energetic and back to munching watermelons and dates,” a veterinary assistant said.

Kartick also emphasised on the need for veterinary dentistry. “Veterinary dentistry is something that we are in need across India as there are only a few specialists working currently,” he pointed.