In January, Specialist Veterinary Dentist, Dr David Clarke visited Taronga Western Plains Zoo to perform dental procedures on a nine year old resident Dingo and a four year old Tasmanian Devil which recently arrived at the Zoo.

The Dingo had a complicated fracture of two canine teeth which required root canal therapy. Whilst it is unclear how the Dingo sustained the injuries, they are like domestic dogs in that dental fractures are usually traumatic in the origin and can occur when chewing on very hard objects like bones.

The Tasmanian Devil had also suffered a complicated fracture to the right upper canine tooth. The injury was initially treated to provide a temporary fix for the problem until the dentist could visit and provide a more permanent solution. The Tasmanian Devil had root canal therapy done on the injured tooth to repair the damage.

Both animals recovered very well from their procedures and are receiving a three week follow up course of antibiotics.