The meeting room was packed with dentists in white smocks — men and women, interns and doctors nearing retirement — about 30 of them sitting in front of a screen and another 20 standing along the sides of the room. The lights go out and on the screen appears an X-ray of hippopotamus teeth.
"What we have here is an abscess," says Dr. Murakami, using his pointer to circle the gingivitis under the left mandibular canine tooth. "We will do surgery today at 2 p.m."
The doctors are filled with excitement and curiosity. These dentists have never worked on a hippopotamus before. One thing is for sure, this is going to be one learning experience!