Assisted by Great Ape Trust veterinarians, Dr. Brigetta Hughes and Dr. Dennis Riordan, veterinary dentist, Dr. Pierre Tung (left) of St. Louis determines Nyota suffered a fracture in his upper jaw. » View Slideshow

Des Moines, Iowa – October 31, 2008 – Every kid growing up has heard it, “it’s always fun until someone gets hurt.”  That was the case this week when Nyota, a 10-year-old bonobo at Great Ape Trust of Iowa suffered a mouth injury while roughhousing with fellow bonobo Kanzi.  Great Ape Trust staff veterinarian, Dr. Brigetta Hughes says play time turned serious when Nyota had two front teeth loosened during a romp in the bonobos' greenhouse.  The injury prompted a call to veterinary dentist Dr. Pierre Tung of St. Louis who traveled to Des Moines to assess the injury.

“Once Nyota was anesthetized, we determined he suffered a fracture of the right quadrant of the maxilla, or upper jaw, between his right canine and second incisor. Fortunately, the teeth were intact and wouldn’t need to be extracted,” said Tung. “We applied basic principles of fracture repair and wrapped thin, orthopedic wire around two adjoining, stable teeth to act as a scaffold.  A soft acrylic material was then molded into place and, once it hardened, served as a splint.”

Tung says the device will remain in place for six to eight weeks and that Nyota will be able to eat what he wants and perform normally. “But no roughhousing for awhile, he added.”

Nyota was sedated throughout Wednesday’s procedure and is recovering wonderfully. Assisting with the procedure were Hughes and Great Ape Trust consulting veterinarian, Dr. Dennis Riordan from Ankeny, Iowa.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Great Ape Trust of Iowa is a scientific research facility in Des Moines dedicated to understanding the origins and future of culture, language, tools and intelligence.  When completed, it will be the largest great ape facility in North America and one of the first worldwide to include all four types of great ape – bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans – for noninvasive interdisciplinary studies of their cognitive and communicative capabilities.  Great Ape Trust is dedicated to providing sanctuary and an honorable life for great apes, studying the intelligence of great apes, advancing conservation of great apes and providing a unique educational experience about great apes.