CHENGDU, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- 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, jointly carried out by the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and West China Hospital of Stomatology, 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.
With Beixia's jaw still developing, veterinarians and orthodontists decided to use the panda's natural growth potential to correct the asymmetry. They digitally scanned his mouth and designed a customized fixed appliance, with three orthodontic elastic bands to apply gentle traction and guide the jaw toward more symmetrical growth.
Long Hu, an orthodontist at West China Hospital of Stomatology, said it was the first time a growth-modification technique used in human orthodontics had been applied to a giant panda.
"Little was known about jaw development in giant pandas, but for Beixia's health, we decided to take on the challenge," Long said.
The treatment lasted about six months. The bands were removed before each feeding and put back afterward. At first, Beixia would push at them with his tongue or paw at his mouth, requiring caregivers to watch closely to prevent the bands from coming loose or being swallowed.
Follow-up examinations showed that Beixia's jaw deviation had largely been corrected, and normal sucking, chewing and swallowing functions had been restored. Now four years old, he can eat normally and remains active and playful.
The treatment reflects increasingly refined veterinary care for China's captive giant panda population, which reached 808 by the end of 2025.
The panda base also plans to establish more systematic oral health records for giant pandas and further advance research and clinical applications in panda dentistry.
"What we aim for is not simply an increase in numbers, but a steady, sustainable, high-quality growth of the panda population," said Wu Honglin, deputy director of the Shenshuping base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.
