Why wombats need to visit the dentist for regular check ups

Wombats Gem and Milo are receiving top notch dental care at their home in Victoria, with a specialist brought in to ensure their toothy pegs are healthy.

The short and stout marsupials* have teeth that continue to grow throughout their life, which is why they munch on coarse native grasses to grind down their chompers.

Healesville Sanctuary keeper Mia Hammond said the zoo provides diverse types of fibrous* food for the resident wombats to wear their teeth down. They also perform dental check-ups to ensure everything is on track.

“Milo and Gem were amazing patients and it all started with their training to voluntarily enter a crate, so they could calmly see the dentist at our wildlife hospital,” Ms Hammond said.

“We are really happy with the amount we are checking Gem’s teeth, because she has a history of a bit of overgrowth, and Milo is looking really good too.”

The entire dental procedure was broadcast on a screen, allowing the veterinary team and visitors to see each tooth in real-time.

Wombat teeth look different to human teeth. The brown stuff on the surface of their teeth is called secondary dentine*, and that’s what wombats use to grind food into small pieces. If you saw that on human teeth you might be a bit worried, but it is completely normal for wombats.

After the procedure under general anaesthetic*, keepers and vets made sure the patients were drinking and eating well. Gem and Milo made a full recovery.

The dental check-ups were made possible thanks to the expertise and support of equine* veterinary dental surgeon Dr Paul Owens.

As their name suggests, common wombats are commonly found across Australia, from the tip of Queensland down to Victoria, and throughout South Australia and Tasmania. While they are not considered endangered, cars and road trauma pose a threat to these animals in the wild.

Visitors to Healesville can view the incredible medical procedures that take place at the Sanctuary’s Australian Wildlife Health Centre (AWHC) via the internal glass walls of the hospital. The AWHC team treats around 2000 wildlife patients each year.

FUN FACTS ABOUT WOMBATS
Wombats certainly are unique – and not just when it comes to their unusual appearance.

Here are some interesting and somewhat quirky things you may not know about wombats.

* They poop in cubes – Bet you don’t know any other animal that does that! Scientists believe that since wombats mark their territory by pooing, the cube shape stops it from rolling away, making sure the smell stays for a long time. Another theory is that the shape is caused by their slow digestive system. It takes about four to six days for a wombat to fully digest a meal

* They can run at 40km/hr – Wombats may look like they should be slow and sluggish, but they can reach speeds of up to 40km/hr when they get going. That’s as fast as a car travelling in a school zone – and just 7km/hr slower than champion runner Usain Bolt’s fastest ever speed

* Their pouches face backwards – While most marsupials have pouches on their fronts, wombats have pouches that face backwards to protect their joeys from getting dirt all over them while their mum is digging

* They are big – Wombats can weight up to 40kg and usually grow about a metre long. In prehistoric days, herds of giant wombats, Diprotodon, roamed Australia during the Ice Age. Diprotodon were about the size of a rhino – 1.8m tall and 2800kg

* Wombats are grouped into a wisdom – A group of wombats is called “a wisdom” – it’s a unique collective noun for a unique creature

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GLOSSARY

• marsupial: a mammal whose baby is born not fully developed and is carried and suckled in a pouch on its belly
• fibrous: something full of fibres, that is tough to chew
• secondary dentine: part of the tooth formed after root formation is complete
• general anaesthetic: a drug that makes you go unconscious so that doctors can perform surgery on you without you feeling anything
• Equine: horses

EXTRA READING
Protecting a native Aussie icon
‘Muppet’ frogmouth chicks hatch
Lion cubs on patrol as juveniles rule

QUICK QUIZ
1. What type of animals are wombats?
2. Why do wombats munch on native grasses?
3. What is the brown stuff on wombats’ teeth called?
4. What is the brown stuff on wombats’ teeth used for?
5. Where in Australia can you find wombats?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Explain to the wombats!
Imagine that you are a reporter for Wombat News. Your audience is young wombats. Write a story about human teeth, how humans look after their teeth and what happens when humans go to the dentist. Remember that your readers don’t know anything about human teeth.

Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education

2. Extension
Choose another animal and use your research skills to find out about their teeth and dental problems. Use the information that you have found to write a guide for people who care for these animals. The purpose of your guide is to help them to look after the animal’s teeth and prevent any dental problems.

Time: allow at least 45 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science

VCOP ACTIVITY
BAB it!
Show you have read and understood the article by writing three sentences using the connectives “because’’, “and”, and “but” (BAB). Your sentences can share different facts or opinions, or the same ones but written about in different ways.