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Dentist sorts out a 28-stone gorilla with tooth trouble

London dentists pulls out a 3-inch tooth from a silverback gorilla.

September 12, 2008 13:25

By

Candice Krieger,

Candice Krieger

1 min read

What do you give a 28-stone silverback gorilla with toothache? A wide berth - unless, that is, you are London dentist Peter Kertesz.

Dr Kertesz, 64, who specialises in wildlife dentistry, spent 45 minutes operating on the animal, called Pertinax, to successfully remove a three-inch tooth.

Officials at the Paignton Zoo in Devon, where surgery took place, say Pertinax was "understandably groggy" following the operation, for which he was anaesthetised for two and a half hours.

"Animals are anaesthetised for longer as you can't reason with them like you can with most humans," said Dr Kertesz, who runs his own (human) dental practice in Central London.