Putting your hands inside the mouth of a tiger is not recommended at the best of times.

But when Chichester-based dentist Paul Cassar met two Royal Bengal tigers suffering excruciating toothache he did not turn pale.

Instead, the father of three pulled up his sleeves and got to work, pulling teeth from the mouths of two former circus performers Mohan and Maneka.

The operations were the first of their kind to be completed at Sussex-based charity International Animal Rescue's new clinic at their rescue centre in Bannerghatta near Bangalore, in Southern India.

As the paint dried on the walls, Mr Cassar described the contrast from his normal job at his Chichester surgery.

He said: "I was working in a very modern recognisable operating room with modern equipment but it's a little bit surreal. One minute you're in Chichester talking to human patients, the next you're in India operating on a tiger.

"Seeing a full-grown tiger stretched out in front of you is a daunting sight but they had been very carefully anaesthetised and we had about two hours to complete the work before they woke up.

"Once they are asleep they are essentially pussy-cats and most of their teeth are quite small. There are so few tigers left now that it was a great privilege to do something to help them."

Both tigers were thought to have broken their teeth chewing on the bars of the cages where they were kept. The teeth became infected leaving large, painful abscesses which had eaten through to the bone and could have killed the tigers through septicaemia.

Mr Cassar said: "They would have been in a lot of pain. We had to get out there when we did because they weren't eating and Mohan was clawing at his own face which indicates he was in discomfort."

Mr Cassar, a trustee of International Animal Rescue and a specialist in root canal surgery, has been a dentist to bears at the charity's rescue centre since 2000.

During his latest five-day visit he also worked on three ex-dancing bears, who had had their teeth knocked out with a hammer by their former owners.

Each operation lasted about four hours but Mr Cassar, who visits the centre twice a year, said it was more complicated than his normal day job.

He said: "You're dealing with a large wild animal with bigger teeth and most instruments are designed for human teeth.

"When I go back to my human patients and tell them what I've been doing at the weekend they are completely amazed. It's the most amazing feeling to be operating on such magnificent animals. I feel proud and privileged to be able to contribute in this unusual way to the work of International Animal Rescue."

The centre is jointly run by IAR and animal charity Born Free. Mr Cassar worked with veterinary surgeon Lisa Milella, of Walton-on-Thames, who specialises in animal dentistry.

For more information about the charity visit www.iar.org.uk or call 01825 767688.

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