A porcupine literally grows long in the tooth

BROOKFIELD, Ill. (WLS) -- Pilgrim the porcupine, at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, is already getting to be long in the tooth and she's only 11 years old. She still has lots of good years left, but only if an unusual tooth problem can be taken care of. Roughly every two months Pilgrim visits Dr. Michael Adkesson, veterinarian and dentist for a day.

Pilgrim has three teeth that have stopped growing, and one that continues to grow. Porcupine incisors typically are ground down naturally by rubbing against each other and the food it eats. But when those three teeth stopped growing that meant there was nothing to wear down the other tooth and keep it trimmed. Brookfield Zoo specialists, doctors and handlers don't know why this happened, it just did. And while it may not seem like a serious problem, it is.

"If we don't do this she wouldn't be able to eat," said Dr. Michael Adkesson about the zoo's bi-monthly tooth trimmings. "They need those teeth for picking up food and chewing on things, and without being able to trim this off that tooth would continue to grow and obstruct her mouth to where she wouldn't be able to eat."

For Pilgrim, this brief visit to the dentist is a life-saving procedure and when this happens in the wild it is fatal. Adkesson uses 3-D imaging to help evaluate the tooth and whether it is still healthy and continuously growing.

As the tooth is healthy and doesn't have to be removed, Pilgrim continues her dental maintenance with Dr. Adkesson. Pilgrim will be back on exhibit at the Brookfield Zoo Wednesday, May 14.