In Duluth, Minnesota, an Alaska brown bear named Tundra, seems to be proudly showing off his shiny silver-coated canine tooth in a first of its kind procedure for a bear. The Talladium crown – a high quality dental restoration completes the previous root canal procedure Tundra had undergone two years ago.
Tundra is a popular resident at the Lake Superior Zoo, and the 800 pound was placed under sedation on Monday while being fitted with his newest crown.
he’s got a little glint in hs smile now.
The entire procedure for Tundra took about an hour. Dr. Grace Brown, a board-certified veterinary dentist, who had done the bear’s original root canal, recently discovered the bear had reinjured that tooth. The decision was made to put a crown on it to make a stronger crown for the tooth.
In order to make sure the staff was safe at all times, a trained armed response team were present in the room, just in case the bear woke up during the procedure. (How do you tell an 800 pound bear to open his mouth and stay still?)
…so this massive, custom-made crown was created to keep that tooth protected for the rest of his life.
We are incredibly proud of the collaboration between Minnesota Veterinary Dental Specialists, Creature Crowns, iM3, and our zoo team. All of Tundra’s care was donated—and we couldn’t be more grateful!
Tundra has been at the zoo with his sibling Banks, who arrived nearly six years ago after their mother was killed. When Tundra stands, he is about 8 feet tall and is quite the impressive bear.
At AZA-accredited zoos, this level of veterinary care is not an exception, it’s the standard. Because loving animals doesn’t just mean loving to see them—it means doing the hard, skilled work of taking excellent care of them every single day.
Support care like this by donating here:
Because empathy isn’t just for people—it’s for all creatures we share this world with.
Follow the National Pet Rescue on Facebook for the latest animal related news.
