Hide! The Tiger's Mouth is Open Wide! Read Online Free PDF

at Tom and Sophie through the glass, ‘is that we’ll remove the pulp in the centre of Ziggy’s canine. All mammals – humans included – have pulp tissue down the inside of each of their teeth. It supplies the tooth with nutrients and helps with feeling and sensation. But sometimes this pulp gets infected. Bacteria spreads through the tooth, killing the pulp tissue. So we have to clean the pulp out and replace it. That way, the tooth can survive for another ten years or more.’
    Dr Sharp was holding a metal tool with a long needle on the end.
    ‘Ready, Violet?’ he asked.
    Violet nodded.
    Dr Sharp started by hollowing out the end of Ziggy’s canine with the needle. Then he took a long thin tube and threaded it up the centre of the tooth. He kept passing it further and further up.
    ‘When’s he going to get to the end?’ Tom asked.
    Sophie shrugged. ‘He said it was a really long tooth.’
    Finally Dr Sharp stopped pushing and wiggled the tube around to remove all of the infected pulp.
    A few minutes later, Dr Sharp stood aside and Violet moved in, filling the centre of the tooth with a greyish material. Throughout, Ziggy looked peaceful and oblivious, his gigantic tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth and resting on the operating table.
    ‘OK, let’s put the crown on,’ said Dr Sharp.
    ‘A crown?’ Tom whispered to Sophie, pointing at his head
    ‘Not that kind of crown, you dingbat,’ Sophie said. ‘A crown for his tooth.’
    Tom looked confused.
    ‘A crown is an artificial tooth,’ Violet said. ‘We’re going to stick it on to replace the top of Ziggy’s tooth. It will look just like a real one.’
    The children watched as the dentist filed down Ziggy’s tooth to make room for the crown. Then Violet squirted dental cement on to the end of Ziggy’s canine. She passed Dr Sharp the crown and he carefully pressed it into place. The crown was made of white plastic and was a very good match. Tom and Sophie couldn’t tell where the tooth ended and the crown began.
     

     
    ‘All done,’ Dr Sharp said.
    ‘You can take him back home now,’ added Violet.
    Tom and Sophie met Dr Sharp and Violet in the corridor outside the operating theatre.
    ‘Will Ziggy’s mouth be sore?’ Sophie asked.
    ‘For a little bit,’ Dr Sharp said, ‘but he’ll be back on the steak by tomorrow.’
    ‘Do you want to come and celebrate with us?’ Tom asked. ‘Before we spotted that Ziggy was sick, we were actually on our way to have hot chocolate and squirty cream.’
    ‘Hot chocolate is full of sugar,’ Dr Sharp exclaimed, ‘and sugar rots your teeth!’
    ‘Oh, yeah, I suppose . . .’ Tom admitted.
    ‘However,’ said the dentist went on, ‘it’s not every day you have a tiger for a patient. So let’s all have hot chocolate and some cake too!’
    ‘Hot chocolate and cake!’ exclaimed Violet.
    Tom and Sophie grinned.

Chapter 6
     
    Over the next few days, Tom and Sophie kept a close eye on Ziggy. They visited him every day after school. Tom took lots of photographs and Sophie drew sketches and made notes.
    ‘He’s completely back to normal, isn’t he?’ Tom said on the third afternoon, as they watched Ziggy gnawing on a gigantic bone.
    ‘He seems to be,’ said Sophie.
    ‘It’s funny what Dr Sharp said about tigers not chewing their food,’ said Tom. ‘I read on the internet that tigers can’t even move their jaws from side to side. Just up and down. They bite and then they swallow.’
    They watched Ziggy nibbling and tearing tiny bits of meat off the tip of the bone with his front teeth.
    ‘Ah, hello, you two,’ said a voice behind them.
    They turned around and saw their grandad leaning on his walking stick.
    ‘I thought I’d find you here,’ he said.
    ‘Everything OK, Grandad?’ Sophie asked.
    ‘Funny you should ask,’ he replied, ‘because I think I might need your help.’
    Both Tom and Sophie turned to face him.
    ‘I’ve heard a rumour that you know rather a lot about