Florida dentist uses denture adhesive to help fix endangered sea turtle’s shell

MARATHON, Fla. – A dentist used denture repair adhesive to help mend an endangered green sea turtle’s fractured shell.

Fred Troxel used the acrylic resin to bond two metal orthopedic plates across a 25-centimetre split in the injured animal’s shell. On Thursday he examined Elena, a 18-kilogram adolescent reptile he had treated the day before.

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The Turtle Hospital in the Florida Keys has been caring for Elena for a month, since the creature was recovered from a Key West beach. Officials believe the turtle washed up after it was hit by a boat.

Hospital manager Bette Zirkelbach says she is optimistic Elena can one day be released into the wild, but the reptile faces a lengthy road to a full recovery. She also has several fibropapilloma tumors that must be surgically removed.