A sloth has undergone pioneering dental surgery to help cure his toothache.
Rico, a two-toed sloth, went under the knife after keepers noticed swelling on the side of his face. Further checks found the 25-year-old animal was suffering from two root abscesses. He is believed to be the first sloth to have such an operation, which was carried out at Chester Zoo working alongside dental experts from Newcastle University.Dentist Fiona Beddis said the university team had never carried out such a procedure before. She said: “It really was a step into the unknown, so we are all delighted with the successful outcome.”
She said treating Rico had been a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity and it was “a great privilege to treat such a rare and beautiful animal”.
Rico, who lives in a habitat within the zoo’s jaguar house, had a series of health check-ups, including a computed tomography scan, which revealed the abscesses had collected at the roots of two teeth. The infection had spread too far for a typical root canal treatment to work.
During the three hour procedure at the zoo’s animal care centre, the experts carried out an apicectomy, a procedure typically confined to humans which sees the infected root cut off and removed. They entered through the side of Rico’s jaw to operate on the bottom of the infected teeth, removing the end of the root and sealing it with a special cement.
Dave Edwards, from the university’s School of Dental Sciences said it was “very challenging working on a sloth due to their unique anatomy, but also a very rewarding experience”.
Zoo vet Charlotte Bentley said the teeth they operated on were “highly specialised and sharp molars”. She added that sloths had “very different teeth to humans which makes dentistry challenging”.
She said the large sharp teeth that were affected in Rico were caniniform teeth which are highly specialised molars. Like so many things with sloths, the exact purpose of these is not fully understood.
She said: “However, they are thought to serve an important role in biting and shearing their food, so we were eager to try to avoid any extractions during the initial operation.
“Whilst we couldn’t save both teeth, the great news is that sinch his procedure, the abscesses have not come back, and his latest X-ray shows his filling is still in place. It is safe to say the treatment worked at treating his toothache.”
Rico, who lives with Tina, a female two-toed sloth, is being regularly monitored since the surgery. His keeper, Brittany Williams, said it could be slow progress calling him in for his check-ups as “he goes at his own pace”. She joked: “I don’t mind working at sloth speed.”
Two-ties sloths are found across South America where they face threats including habitat loss, logging and hunting for the illegal wildlife trade. Chester zoo is part of a conservation breeding programme working to safeguard the species across Europe.
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