From Chichester to the Wild: The Dentist Who Became an Unexpected Lifeline for Exotic Animals

For 40 years, the routine of a dental surgery in Chichester, West Sussex, has been the rhythm of life for one local dentist. Trained in the 1980s to focus on human oral health, the practitioner never imagined that their expertise would one day be required in the high-stakes, wild world of veterinary medicine.

That trajectory shifted permanently in 2000, thanks to an encounter with Alan Knight, the CEO of International Animal Rescue (IAR). Knight presented photographs of a bear named Jojo, whose teeth had been brutally broken by poachers. If left untreated, the animal faced severe infections and life-threatening abscesses. The dentist soon learned this was a widespread practice: poachers would kill mother bears to harvest their cubs, later using hammers to shatter the young animals’ teeth to make them appear more docile and manageable.

Compelled to act, the dentist embarked on an mission to India to treat a 14-year-old sloth bear named Anthony. Weighing 180kg, Anthony was suffering from a grapefruit-sized tumor on his gum that made eating impossible.

The surgery, conducted alongside veterinary dentist Lisa Milella, was intended to be a routine procedure. However, the operation took a harrowing turn when Anthony’s pulse plummeted, his breathing stopped, and local staff declared him dead. With the weight of the moment pressing down, and local vets retreating in despair, the dentist and Milella refused to give up.

“I’ve operated on 200 bears, half a dozen tigers, a couple of lions, hyenas and gorillas,” the dentist reflects, noting that it was a desperate three minutes of CPR and adrenaline that ultimately brought Anthony back from the brink. The bear went on to live for another decade, marking the start of a remarkable career in wildlife dentistry.

Now frequently nicknamed “Bear Drills,” the specialist has spent years adapting human dental techniques for massive patients. The challenges are significant: tools for a tiger’s root canal are vastly larger than those used for human patients, and the stakes are exponentially higher. From fitting a “Bling Bear” with a gold crown to managing a lion having a ketamine-induced seizure, the work is a far cry from the quiet halls of a West Sussex surgery.

The dentist, who remains deeply involved with the IAR, views the experience of bringing a bear back to life as a defining, if stressful, chapter of a life spent in service. Though the work is grueling, the reward—seeing rescued animals recover from years of abuse and trauma—is immeasurable.

“They have suffered so much,” the dentist says. “I feel privileged to play a part in bringing them relief.”