[Nhcoll-l] [EXTERNAL] Fwd: Question on methods for extracting marten teeth

Fri Jul 18 11:11:50 EDT 2025

Other places to look for fine (and often very cool pliers and other tools) are:

  1.
Model railroad suppliers
  2.
Micromark: Precision Mini Hand Tools for Hobbyists | Small Tool Sets | Micro<https://micromark.com/collections/mini-hand-tools?msclkid=177de93b9c1e15ae8d1e8141ff9a47e3&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=**AdSearch%20-%20Hand%20Tools%20-%20Pmax&utm_term=micromark.com&utm_content=Hand%20Tools>
  3.
Conservation supply houses such as Benchmark Benchmark Catalog | Benchmark Catalog<https://www.benchmarkcatalog.com/>
  4.
Check with your dentist.

Good luck!
Gretchen  Anderson

Gretchen Anderson (she, her)

Conservator

Carnegie Museum of Natural History

AndersonG at CarnegieMNH.Org<mailto:AndersonG at CarnegieMNH.Org>

[Logos]

Instructor

Preventive Conservation, IPM, Museum Housekeeping

Museum Study LLC

Museum Study online professional development - Home<https://www.museumstudy.com/>

________________________________
From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of Smith, Matthew <Matthew_E_Smith at nps.gov>
Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2025 6:45 PM
To: Adam Marsh <220marsh at gmail.com>; Hardes, Jonathan G <jonathan_hardes at nps.gov>
Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu <nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERNAL] Fwd: Question on methods for extracting marten teeth

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Hi Elizabeth,

Just a couple thoughts:

Instead of dermestids, or after the dermestids, you may want to macerate the lower jaws for a couple weeks or a month in some room temperature water set in a sunny/warm place. Let bacteria do the finish work down in the alveoli.

Then you might look into some of the really cool pliers and grasping tools from the model airplane enthusiast stores for pulling. They often have really cool small tools that will help in situations like this. Additionally, if you are afraid of shattering the enamel or similar dipping the jaws of those same tools in a liquid rubber made for tool handles may also give them that 'soft grip' you would be looking for.

Good luck!

Matt
Amazon.com: Performix (11603-6-6PK) Plasti Dip Black - 14.5 oz. Dip Can (Pack of 6)<https://www.amazon.com/Performix-11603-6-6PK-Plasti-Dip-Black/dp/B00I9SK6ZE/ref=asc_df_B00I9SK6ZE?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80676856087420&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=66712&hvtargid=pla-4584276320389345&msclkid=de5cbafd744b16875224d28408e84321&th=1>
Amazon.com<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fAmazon.com&c=E,1,2ENeccX3JSkRaPRGibCvXn4KW1iiZUNDqYndF8tNaaNbg_4SrS7sFX5hOUNCQz_hOt9sWB_Ax35zBuXjm1aKhNeqvUmv_5q3TqgLuhFb9AD1EcS3WNuYtg,,&typo=1&ancr_add=1>: Performix (11603-6-6PK) Plasti Dip Black - 14.5 oz. Dip Can (Pack of 6)
www.amazon.com

Amazon.com: Performix (11603-6-6PK) Plasti Dip Black - 14.5 oz. Dip Can (Pack of 6)<https://www.amazon.com/Performix-11603-6-6PK-Plasti-Dip-Black/dp/B00I9SK6ZE/ref=asc_df_B00I9SK6ZE?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80676856087420&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=66712&hvtargid=pla-4584276320389345&msclkid=de5cbafd744b16875224d28408e84321&th=1>

Matthew E. Smith
Museum Curator
Petrified Forest National Park
1 Park Road #2217
Petrified Forest, AZ 86028
Work Phn: 928-524-6228 ext 240
Work Cell Phone: 928-241-0566

________________________________
From: Adam Marsh <220marsh at gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2025 3:33 PM
To: Smith, Matthew <Matthew_E_Smith at nps.gov>; Hardes, Jonathan G <jonathan_hardes at nps.gov>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Fwd: [Nhcoll-l] Question on methods for extracting marten teeth

 This email has been received from outside of DOI - Use caution before clicking on links, opening attachments, or responding.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Elizabeth Wommack <ewommack at uwyo.edu<mailto:ewommack at uwyo.edu>>
Date: Thu, Jul 17, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Question on methods for extracting marten teeth
To: NHCOLL-new <nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>>

Hello everyone,

The UWYMV has a graduate student working on a project on martens, and needs to remove two lower premolars for aging purposes. The animals are being processed right now (they're coming to us as skinned carcasses and we are cleaning, sampling, drying, then to the dermestid colonies they go), and we are trying to figure out the best method to get those premolars out of the lower jaw.

The student has experience pulling teeth from bears, and we have several tooth pulling instruments for bears and humans, but they are too large for these teeth (the teeth shatter when grasped).

It has been recommended to boil the lower jaws slowly at 130 degrees Fahrenheit, but that hasn't loosened the teeth after boiling for 3 hours.

Our next attempts will be for the dermestids to clean them and see if they are loosened by the bugs, or maceration.

Does anyone have experience removing small teeth from mammal skulls and has a consistent method that works? I have had teeth fall out on me after they come out of the bugs, but it is not a regular occurrence (and until now I've tried to avoid it).

Any help or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,
Beth Wommack

Elizabeth Wommack, PhD
Curator and Collections Manager of Vertebrates
University of Wyoming Museum of Vertebrates
Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center
University of Wyoming,
Laramie, WY 82071
ewommack@<mailto:ewommack at berkeley.edu>uwyo.edu<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fuwyo.edu%2f&c=E,1,TKrED05dERW7-kXvQpog89dmEfiKIsaZ6jG5lPnKRyNaZUaUiiS9bINUyfAH0q97p5KpUWFM2C7rRLUUJ6Cpc-2tfxEg_EDyv7cSjerQ5kXzzvPTt-z9&typo=1>
pronouns: she, her, herself
www.uwymv.org<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fuwymv.wyomingbiodiversity.org%2findex.php&c=E,1,6Vbtflu7gaV5l4bPsHFXQBTlx-niJ11ZPOs_gr0aEqOGeHp2yVYfEtWuE4lGb8uizaP529mJe55q1vJYRJAkcN-rvpQvkHC7rWVzuJYtKnjBjG1UrQ4kSQ,,&typo=1>
UWYMV Collection Use Policy<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fuwymv.wyomingbiodiversity.org%2fapplication%2ffiles%2f5616%2f8563%2f0071%2fUWYMV_Collection_Use.pdf&c=E,1,4NEYR_nBzNVTPqQrN5vfWmnIXeDLqVmlE-Bez7h9B3Ws4_xJ81u_z_m3nR1xU8XUIiVJkWxacuepC7py5pCI4fYUC_6D4aYcRZPmI78OwgDyM37Pg9Jq&typo=1>
[https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fci3.googleusercontent.com%2fmail-sig%2fAIorK4wzeBAm3ZshQCDFzQ5wkSAIelZLntGMwLQ0l3OaxGfoFH4PEQ-tYzlg1s7X9ScKxz1dFEGIXS8&c=E,1,IhZQ9BdPNdulwvvzZU3EEh6cTIjj4SZLpTGT-kOlfFhv2hfBhLErsGjfIO8wThxA5G4RDtoMXlPTAVa23wX1jhYj7gyEj3po6I4LxEeOQmNLe4G_&typo=1]
_______________________________________________
Nhcoll-l mailing list
Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l

_______________________________________________
NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
society. See http://www.spnhc.org<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.spnhc.org%2f&c=E,1,Ays8fNFTv9i90-JJVa8GU9L_tJHoaZYQvthoyOQVUHVkih7tCJyzSSsstb4DLjvQrtb_JhnbHVCpqSowIy3dmSohTgVdtxi6iH_uV_UzAC5qer72AJSdMPA7&typo=1> for membership information.
Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.

--
Adam D. Marsh, Ph.D.

Lead Paleontologist, Petrified Forest National Park
Research Associate, Vertebrate Paleontology Collections, UT Austin
Research Associate, Museum of Northern Arizona

The information contained in this message and/or attachments is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any system and destroy any copies. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/nhcoll-l/attachments/20250718/fdc0d29c/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Outlook-Logos.png
Type: image/png
Size: 125572 bytes
Desc: Outlook-Logos.png
URL: <http://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/nhcoll-l/attachments/20250718/fdc0d29c/attachment.png>