Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
17 December 2024 | 12:06 CAT
3-minute read

National Zoological Garden (Facebook)

A 23-year-old silverback gorilla made for an unusual dental patient at the National Zoological Garden in Pretoria on 6 December 2024, capturing the attention of experts and students alike. Binga was diagnosed with periodontal disease, also known as gum disease, a group of inflammatory conditions that affect tissues and bones that support the teeth.

The treatment included a comprehensive dental evaluation and was a collaborative effort involving a team of specialists from the National Zoological Garden and the University of Pretoria.

The zoological team started the process weeks in advance, training the 180 kg gorilla to sleep separately from his three companions in his night room so zoo officials could anaesthetise him on the day of the surgery.

“You cannot anaesthetise one of the apes amongst all the others. They would protect each other, and you wouldn’t be able to work with them,” veterinary dentistry and maxillofacial specialist Professor Gerhard Steenkamp, who performed the procedure, explained earlier today on Radio Islam International.

The team also worked to build Binga’s trust so they could inject the anaesthetic instead of darting him.

“Usually with these wild animals, we have to dart them, especially for the great apes, it can be quite traumatic. So this whole process of getting him ready was also for him to allow one of the veterinarians to inject him with the anaesthesia,” Professor Steenkamp said.

Binga was taken to the theatre complex situated within the zoo, where he underwent a comprehensive dental evaluation. Once in theatre, Professor Steenkamp took x-rays while his colleague conducted an ultrasound evaluation and echocardiography. The bone loss around Binga’s tooth meant an extraction was required, and after the procedure, Binga was taken back to his enclosure to rest and recover.

Periodontitis is caused by a build-up of bacteria that invades the structures surrounding the tooth and is a relatively common condition that affects humans, gorillas and other great apes

“When I took the radiograph, I could see there was a lot of bone loss around that tooth. And Binga had a draining sinus on the side of his face. There was some blood and pus coming out,” Professor Steenkamp explained. “When you get to the point where you’ve got such bone loss that the infection has spread, and in his case, already draining outside of the mouth, it’s impossible to save that tooth, so I had to extract the tooth.”

Gorillas are ground-dwelling great apes, highly social primates with an extraordinary variety of complex social structures and can live for up to 60 years in captivity. Comparable to humans, they require a great deal of healthcare and undergo routine yearly or two-year check-ups.

The University of Pretoria has a memorandum of understanding with the National Zoological Garden to aid in animal healthcare.

“It’s just wonderful when we work with a special patient like this. Everybody gets a lot of input and gets a lot experience,” Professor Steenkamp said, adding that cases like these provide excellent opportunities for university students enrolled in various faculties, including the wildlife, dentistry or radiology clinics. Some students are selected to participate in and attend the procedure, which gives them a leg up in their chosen field.

Veterinary studies remain a popular career path for many students and a competitive field at the University of Pretoria’s Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital (OVAH) which has a limited capacity of about 190 spots but receives 1 800-2 000 applications per year.

Listen to the full interview on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Habib Bobat.