Doctors perform life-saving dental surgery on 900-pound bear

By George Mathias via SWNS

A Brit performed life-saving dental surgery on a bear - after it was unable to eat properly due to its broken teeth and decaying gums.

Misha, a 25-year-old brown bear, was rescued in 2023 by UK NGO International Animal Rescue (IAR) and its partners FPWC in Armenia.

The 900-pound bear was found wandering on the outskirts of an Armenian village and had likely escaped from captivity, experts say.

A British medical team who assessed Misha found his teeth were broken and decaying and his gums were infected and swollen from years spent gnawing on the bars of a cage.

Problems with his teeth meant the bear was in a lot of pain and struggling to eat and he was described by the vet as "severely malnourished".

A volunteer anesthetist darted the bear while experts performed a grueling five-hour operation - involving the extraction of seven teeth and root canal surgery on three.

The procedure was deemed a complete success and Misha is now recovering in a recovery pen - and has been eating lots of fruit.

Jonathan Cracknell, 47, a veterinary surgeon specializing in wildlife and anesthetics, from Knowsley, Merseyside, said: "The dental surgery was a great success.

"It was a complex surgery and, on closer inspection, poor Misha had even more problems with his teeth than had been anticipated.

"But the team did an amazing job, extracting seven teeth and performing root canal treatment on three others.

"We were finished in about five hours, leaving time to treat a second bear – Masha – whose surgery was quick and straightforward."

The team was made up of Jonathan, Paul Cassar, IAR Trustee and dentist, from Chichester, West Sussex, Gerhard Putter, veterinary dental specialist, based in Cambridge, and Aurora Mateo, IAR trustee and veterinary dental specialist from Spain.

Gerhard said: “Misha had multiple dental problems but we were able to tackle them all.

"With Jonathan on anesthetics, and with Paul and Aurora, we had the perfect team and even just hours after the surgery we could see the improvement in Misha’s demeanor.

"And the following day we’re told he was on his feet and eating apples with gusto.”

CEO of International Rescue Alan Knight said: “This is not the first time we’ve carried out dental surgery on a bear in Armenia and sadly it won’t be the last.

"We believe there may still be as many as 50 caged bears in need of rescue – and living in terrible pain, just as Misha was.

“This year we are building a new, bigger rescue center for those bears.

"We rely entirely on public donations to fund this lifesaving work and our supporters are always so generous."

You can make a donation to International Animal Rescue here.

The post Doctors perform life-saving dental surgery on 900-pound bear appeared first on Talker .