Omdillo Gets A Root Canal

Last Thursday we took Omdillo, a 6.5 year old male cheetah, to the dentist to check on a tooth that had a root canal performed about one year ago. This tooth, a maxillary (upper) canine, left side, was very discoloured in appearance, thus we were worried the previous root canal had failed.

Canine teeth (they are called canine teeth, even though they are in a feline animal!) are very important for grabbing and killing prey. This cheetah will hopefully be re-released in the near future, and thus having all four canine teeth functional is very important for him to be able to hunt successfully in the wild. The tooth with the root canal was rechecked and the filling was partially replaced.

Omdillo also had a mass (growth) on the left lower lip, which was surgically removed. It will be sent to a veterinary pathologist so they can tell us exactly what type of tissue it is, and whether or not it is something to worry about. The surgery went well and he is eating normally today. The stitches are absorbable and will dissolve within a few weeks, when the lip is healed. Finally, he also had three tiny (4mm) skin biopsies taken for a genetics research project being conducted in collaboration with CCF and the University of Namibia.