Dental News - Reptile doctor fixes turtle shell with dental filling material

Claudia Duschek, DTI

Fri. 1. February 2013

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FRANKSTON, Australia: A veterinarian specialised in treating reptiles has used dental glass ionomer cement to stabilise the shell of a wild turtle. The shell was fractured when the animal was hit by a car. The material usually used in restorative dentistry provides a watertight seal so that the turtle can be released back into water.

Dr Shane Simpson, a reptile vet at the Reptile Doctor, a department of the Karingal Veterinary Hospital dedicated to providing veterinary care for reptile and amphibian companion animals, treated the turtle and said that he actually uses dental glass ionomers quite often. He said that he has treated about 40 to 50 turtles with this technique already.

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Once the shell has been repaired, the animals are sent to wildlife carers to be rehabilitated and ultimately released back into the wild. “Within three to six months, the ionomer begins to fall out as the shell heals,” Simpson told Dental Tribune ONLINE.

“The dental filling method using glass ionomer is a documented method of repair. It has been reported on in a number of scientific papers and presented at a number of reptile veterinary conferences over the years. Not many vets use it though because not many of us treat reptiles and there is obviously an expense in purchasing the equipment,” Simpson said.

The resin composite, which is usually used by dentists to treat damaged or decayed teeth, is not the only piece of dental equipment that Simpson uses in his practice. In order to attach safety wires to the broken segment of the turtle’s shell, he also used a dental drill to produce holes for inserting the wires. “We are also equipped with digital dental X-ray equipment. I use this in reptiles to X-ray the legs of very small animals, as I get very good images of fractures,” the vet said.

Currently, the turtle is recovering in a pond in Simpson’s backyard. As she had a fractured pelvis too, the turtle’s eggs had to be removed. The vet’s team incubated her eggs and hatched four of them. Her babies were then released back into the wild.

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