Dentist trips are never fun, but fortunately you don’t have teeth the size of an elephant, which are significantly harder to operate on when issues occur.
A 33-year-old Asian elephant that goes by the name of Lucha from Whipsnade Zoo recently underwent a dental operation in which an infected molar needed to be extracted from the elephant’s mouth because the elephant was experiencing mouth pains and was having trouble eating as a result.
“While most people dread the idea of a visit to the dentist, for Lucha the elephant it was a relaxed experience, due to the regular training and close relationship she has with our keepers,” veterinarian Nic Masters said in a statement.
“The keepers quickly noticed when Lucha was off her food, and as soon as we identified the problem tooth, we called upon expert zoo dentist Dr Peter Kertesz to help out.”
The operation, which took about two hours of time, was successfully completed and the elephant is now reportedly eating normally again and is said to be pain free.
Those performing the operation used a series of drill bits and other cutting tools to remove the massive molar from the elephant’s mouth. The molar, which is seen in the video below, is about eight inches long and probably pretty heavy too.
Lucha is one of 11 Asian elephants at Whipsnade zoo. The species is considered endangered.
Source: DailyMail, YouTube
