Hippo Gets His Teeth Brushed And He Needs It Too

At the Tennoji Zoo in Osaka, Japan, hippo hygiene is important.

Hippos need a good tooth brushing from time to time too, and the hippopotamus of this Japanese zoo is no exception. But while in nature hippo teeth are cleaned by fish and birds, Tetsuo needs a careful zookeeper to do it for him, along with a quick physical check-up.

Thanks to training and consistent routines, the animal is extremely relaxed during the entire process, obviously enjoying the attention.

The zookeeper appears to be calm too, which is a feat in itself considering that hippos are the only animals with a recorded bite force measuring a colossal 8100 newtons.

Watch and brush along.

According to New Scientist, the hippo’s 40 self-sharpening chompers are used for both chewing and combat, and are quite unique. The animal uses its front teeth to shear off plants close to the ground, while its often unseen back teeth munch up the 40 kilograms or so of grass the animals can consume every night.

In nature, those ferocious fangs stay relatively well-cared due to a cleaning symbiosis with fish and birds.

Here’s what a full treatment looks like at the hippo spa:

The hippo’s teeth grow throughout its life, some reaching 50 centimetres (about 20 inches) in length. As they don’t yellow over time, hippo ivory is popular with poachers, and used to be made into dentures – most famously for US president George Washington.