THE uShaka Sea World staff, who provide around-the-clock care for the animals at the local marine life facility and amusement park, were paid a visit by internationally renowned veterinary dental specialist Dr Cedric Tutt recently.
“Dr Tutt has been helping us to maintain the good dental health of the animals in our care for the last couple of years,” said Nikhiel Singh from uShaka Sea World and the South Africa Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR) at uShaka.
Singh went on to say that all animals, as well as humans, develop dental health concerns in their lives, and dolphins are no exception.
“When Dr Trutt examined the teeth of the dolphins last year, he identified three dolphins that required further attention. While general anaesthesia is possible and is routinely done at other facilities that house cetaceans, the procedure certainly is not easy, and there are increased risks to the animal. For this reason, we prefer to perform short surgical procedures using a local anaesthetic and good pain control,” said Singh.
Singh said that asking a dolphin to remain absolutely still with its mouth open while a dental specialist examines its mouth is much like asking a young child to sit open-mouthed in a dentist’s chair.
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“Many of the animal behaviorists in the Mammal and Bird Department have cared for the dolphins for over 25 years (some over 30 years) and have developed secure, strong relationships of trust. Training the dolphins to open their mouths for an extended time period and to remain calm during the evaluation procedure has been built on this solid relationship of trust,” he said.
Dr Tutt was able to perform various dental procedures while he was at the Durban theme park. “His evaluation not only included an expert, visual evaluation, but he made detailed dental X-rays (radiographs) of their teeth and gums. These allowed us to identify some issues of concern, which were then immediately attended to. Two of the dolphins needed a tooth cavity filled, and one dolphin needed a tooth extraction,” said Singh.
“We are extremely grateful to Dr Tutt for his help and value the incredible contribution that he is making to ensure that the animals in our care receive the best medical treatment possible,” Singh concluded.
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