[Nhcoll-l] Dealing with cracked carnivoran teeth

[Simon Moore]

I have also found this to be a problem as I used to prepare many carnivore skulls (and others) from fresh, when I worked at the NH Museum in London (pre-1991).  Only the canines tended to crack / delaminate whereas the other teeth were fine.  As suspected, this has to be with the drying process (too rapid and leading to this problem). I have known ivory dealers (pre-1947) have the same problem if RH dropped below c. 55% and they would put bowls of water into their display cases to counteract the drying effect of the lighting.  I have also excavated many 17th century ivory handled knives from the river Thames many years ago – same problem, as they gradually dried out, many (but not all) split longitudinally or at least slightly delaminated.  
I realise that ivory and teeth are not quite the same composition but there seems to be a parallel.
However the question as to why canine teeth seem to be much more vulnerable to this problem (and ivory) is still unanswered!

Simon Moore, MIScT, FLS, RScI, ACR,
Conservator of Natural Sciences and Cutlery Historian

www.natural-history-conservation.com
Sent from Mail for Windows 10

From: Gary W Shugart
Sent: 21 October 2021 18:39
To: Blaine Schubert; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Dealing with cracked carnivoran teeth

​Hi All:  This has always been a puzzle for our collection.  Almost all the large carnivore teeth especially canines are cracked and/or flaking. The longitudinal cracks appear as the teeth dry, often within a few months. Taxidermist (Van Dykes) sell replacement teeth of plastic and there are many suggestion on taxidermy site on repairing cracks.  Or maybe pull the teeth, 3D print substitutes, and keep the originals moist?

My dentist suggested that this is why you should keep your mouth closed when running or biking - to prevent drying you teeth. 

Gary Shugart


From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of Blaine Schubert <schubert at etsu.edu>
Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2021 9:17 AM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Dealing with cracked carnivoran teeth 
 
I am wondering if anyone has been successful at mending modern carnivoran teeth that are cracked and slightly warped.  This is a major issue with our bear collection.

Best,
Blaine

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