By Isobel Williams

These pictures show dentists working on a lion - removing a massive infected canine while the 140kg big cat was sedated.

Three-year-old female Lira had the 8cm tooth taken out at the Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarsden, Kent last week.

Experienced dentist Peter Kertesz drained a pocket of pus from beneath the tooth before the large wound was closed with seven dissolving sutures.

He also performed a root canal on the opposing upper canine tooth, which was also found to be infected, cleaning and filling it with materials similar to those used for humans

Kertesz, of Zoodent International , estimated the infection was likely caused by a trauma sustained when Lira was between 1.5 and two years old, leading to bacteria producing toxins inside the tooth.

The dentist said,

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