Chinese specialists have successfully corrected a giant panda's crooked jaw using an orthodontic technique adapted from human treatment, in the first such procedure performed on this species.
The treatment, lasting about six months, restored the panda's ability to bite and chew normally. Related research was published in July in The Angle Orthodontist, a leading international orthodontic journal.
Beixia, a male giant panda born in 2022, suffered a jaw injury shortly after birth. By around three months old, his lower jaw had begun to deviate to the left, causing milk to leak from his mouth and raising concerns that he could eventually struggle to chew bamboo, which posed a serious threat to his survival.