Dentist Revives Bear During Surgery

A UK dentist revived a bear that died during a dental operation in India. The 14-year-old sloth bear, named Anthony, suffered a cardiac arrest under anaesthesia more than three hours into surgery.

Peter, a dentist from Chichester, West Sussex, had been preparing for over a year to perform his first animal dentistry. He was working with veterinary dentist Lisa Milella to remove a massive benign tumour from Anthony's gum. The 180kg bear was already anaesthetised when Peter first saw him.

The local anaesthetists had used darts to administer the drugs. Peter explains that in those days, the local teams only had experience injecting anaesthesia and did not know how long it would last, so it had to be topped up. If an animal is unwell, administering too much anaesthetic can be lethal.

During the procedure, Anthony's pulse rate plummeted. Within minutes, the local vets monitoring him could no longer detect a pulse. His breathing stopped and he was pronounced dead. The local vets walked out of the operating room, saying, "You've killed our bear."

Lisa Milella brought Peter back to reality. She instructed him to get the emergency drug box and crash kit. Peter started performing CPR on Anthony. They gave him adrenaline, and Peter pounded his chest. It was an excruciatingly long three minutes before the bear was able to breathe by himself again.

Anthony was still under anaesthetic. The team knew he was alive, but not if he was well. They waited. When he woke up, Peter felt triumphant. Anthony went on to live for another 10 years.

From Human to Animal Dentistry

Peter's journey into animal dentistry began in 2000. A patient of his, Alan Knight, the CEO of International Animal Rescue (IAR), showed him photographs of the inside of a bear's mouth. The bear, called Jojo, had teeth broken off by poachers. Some were too rotten to be saved, leaving Jojo prone to infection and abscesses.

Alan Knight told Peter that Jojo wasn't the only bear in need. Poachers would kill mother bears and grab their cubs. When the cubs got older, the poachers would break their teeth using a hammer to make them look more docile. Peter knew he had to help.

Since Anthony's resuscitation, Peter has continued working with IAR. He has performed dentistry on 200 bears, half a dozen tigers, a couple of lions, a few hyenas, and a handful of gorillas and orangutans. He has even been nicknamed "Bear Drills".

The Challenges of Animal Dentistry

Operating on animals presents unique challenges. Their teeth are much larger than a human's, requiring bigger tools. A file used for root-canal treatments on people is about a quarter of the size of those used on tigers.

Peter has seen a wide variety of cases. These include a 300kg tiger with multiple facial abscesses, a bear fitted with a gold crown nicknamed Bling Bear, and a lion having a ketamine-induced fit during an extraction. He very nearly had to do some crowns on beluga whales that were used for submarine warfare by the Soviet Union, but they escaped from their holding pen before he flew out.

He travels to IAR sanctuaries to treat rescued animals every year. The local teams at every sanctuary monitor the animals after he leaves, and always report positive changes in their behaviour. Peter says the work is more stressful than his day job, but incredibly fulfilling. He feels privileged to play a part in bringing relief to animals that have suffered so much.