RVC Vet Ben Davidson was asked to examine Tama, a 12 year old lioness from the Orana Wildlife Park pride on his regular weekly visit. Tama had become very grumpy, was reluctant to eat her full ration and the keepers had noticed her drooling more than normal. It was difficult to see too much from a distance, and although she was baring her teeth and growling at Ben through the mesh he could not get a good look in her mouth. She was treated with a course of pain relief to see if this would improve her condition. She showed a slight improvement, and a couple of days later, when one of the keepers was feeding her, he noticed that one of her premolars was broken.

With an exposed pulp and nerve there was no option but to remove the tooth under a general anaesthetic. The team organised for the RVC dentistry Vet Marcella Cassiani Lowe, who has post-graduate qualifications in veterinary dentistry to remove the tooth, while Ben and Katie, the vet tech anaesthetist, administered and monitored the anaesthetic. Once anaesthetised, Tama was intubated and placed on a portable trolley so Marcella could begin the procedure.

Once Tama was comfortably asleep, a nerve block was placed to make the area around her tooth numb. Dental x-rays were taken of the broken premolar which showed it was very infected. Using the same type of dental equipment a human dentist would use, Marcella surgically extracted the broken, infected tooth and stitches were placed in her gums to help speed up the healing process.

Tama recovered well and was back to eating her full ration in comfort only a couple of days later.