A dentist's unexpected career: saving a bear's life with oral surgery

A British dentist describes his first animal patient, a 180kg sloth bear with a large gum tumor. The surgery was complicated when the bear's pulse plummeted, but the dentist successfully revived it. He has since performed dental procedures on hundreds of wild animals.

Cassar's introduction to wildlife dentistry came through a patient, Alan Knight, who led International Animal Rescue and showed him photographs of a bear named Jojo whose teeth had been shattered by poachers. Poachers commonly break cubs' teeth with hammers to make them appear docile, leaving the animals vulnerable to infection. His first procedure, on the 180kg sloth bear Anthony, involved removing a grapefruit-sized gum tumor alongside veterinary dentist Lisa Milella, after more than a year of preparation. When Anthony's breathing stopped mid-surgery, Cassar performed CPR and administered adrenaline for three tense minutes until the bear revived. Anthony survived another decade, and Cassar has since treated roughly 200 bears, several tigers, lions, hyenas, gorillas, and orangutans, earning the nickname "Bear Drills."