Dudley Zoo chimp pays a visit to the dentist to have teeth removed
A chimpanzee called Barbie has received important dental work at a Black Country zoo.
Dudley Zoo and Castle (DZC) set up a makeshift operating theatre in the primate keepers’ office, complete with state-of-the art equipment for the procedure.
The zoo’s veterinary team alongside an expert veterinary dentist, who travelled from Manchester, carried out the two-hour operation to extract two of Barbie's teeth.
DZC Curator Richard Brown, said: "Keepers had spotted Barbie’s gum around two top teeth was getting red and inflamed.
"It had been observed a number of times by the vet team and photos were sent to the dentist for them to be remotely assessed and the decision was made to remove them as just like humans, teeth begin decaying in ageing primates.
"The extraction process was exactly like a human tooth would be removed and they packed the holes with a special gauze which helps to encourage healing in the cavity.
"All of Barbie’s other teeth were checked and were in good condition and the dentist finished off with a scale and polish and she was also given a full health check and is in top condition."
Preparation work for the procedure began months ago as keepers started working with the 43-year-old chimp to help ease any possible stress around sedation with a general anaesthetic on the day.
Section Leader Jodie Dryden said: "Our chimps are trained to present their shoulders for injections, but as a thigh is a better place to inject, we wanted to introduce the seven girls to the new method and they all picked it up within a week, thanks to reward training with a few raisin and grape treats.
"We also needed to separate Barbie off from the rest of the group, as that’s what we’d need to do on the day and we worked with her in getting her into a den by herself, which again she quickly picked up thanks to the encouragement of her favourite pear treat.
"We began by introducing a mock needle to all of the group, so they were familiar with the feel of the scratch sensation, before working our way up to the proper needle we used on the day.
"By operation day, the training was a regular part of the day for the girls and worked perfectly.
"Barbie separated herself off from the others, presented her thigh and we were able to inject her properly with the anaesthetic, without any veterinary involvement."
Once Barbie was sedated in the den, she was carried onto the operating table, where after an x-ray to confirm which teeth needed removing, the veterinary team got to work.
Jodie added: "This is the first time we’ve had dental work performed on a chimp here at DZC and it was the first time Barbie has had to be anaesthetised.
"It was such a learning experience for us all to be involved in and really interesting to watch and I’m really proud of the whole team who all pulled together to help."
