Endodontic treatment for a Bengal Tiger

Tebore, an almost 500 pound Bengal tiger (subspecies of the Siberian tiger) is a star attraction at a small, private children’s zoo in Visalia, California. This beautiful tiger, with its characteristic bright coloured fur is frequently taken on ‘field trips’ to primary schools where he is petted and hugged by children, including mentally-retarded children. Although Tebore is quite domesticated, his owner was concerned that he might snap at a child. To minimize a potential puncture-tear injury from the canines, the owner and the zoo’s veterinarian requested that the four ‘fangs’ be reduced in length and root canal treatment for the remaining tooth structure completed. Root treatment was preferred to extraction because the animal is also used to make television commercials when i t has to look ferocious. By keeping the roots of the canines it would be possible to construct plastic ‘fangs’ which would be attached to