Tooth Talk

Viru Sharma and Haley Parrett

Concept/Narrative
- Evolutionary timeline of life focused on the specialization of teeth
- How humans have used teeth in various cultures

Concept: entrance has series of backlit high-def images of different teeth

Relevance
- Teeth can tell researchers a lot about not only the organisms they come
from, but also the environments in which they lived
- Collaboration with local indigenous communities for anthropology and
culture exhibit
- Video of paleontologist talking about fossilized teeth and their uses
- Teaching children the importance of good dental practices by connecting
it to nature
Collection Management and Conservation
- Fossils can be sensitive to touch and delicate
- Many will be in glass cages
- 3D printed models for guests to touch
- Internal loans for small specimens in the exhibit from the collections
- Anthropology and culture specimens
- External loans
- Shark jaw from American Museum of Natural History
- Hadrosaur tooth battery from Denver Museum of Nature and Sciences
Design
- Room with a center island that contains larger specimens and models
- Follows a timeline while moving clockwise around the room
- Each corner represents a period in natural history
- Origins and pre-mesozoic
- Mesozoic and dinosaurs
- Pliocene animals
- Modern animals, anthropology, and culture
- Wall on marine teeth and evolution
- 3D model of a dentist office
Corner: Origins
- Evolution of teeth
- What teeth can tell researchers
about the landscape of a region
during different time periods
- TV showing looped video of
researchers describing the
process of uncovering and
analyzing fossilized teeth
Corner: Paleontology
- Hadrosaur and Ceratopsid Tooth
Batteries
- Explanation of the evolution and
advantages of chewing
- TV display with animation of
chewing
Wall: Marine Teeth
- Marine animals need their teeth to grab,
hold, and rip prey rather than bite,
chew, and grind food as most terrestrial
animals do
- The shape of marine teeth can tell you
what kind of prey it eats
- Mosasaur
- Great white shark/megalodon
- Talk about different chemical comp of shark
teeth and mammal teeth?
- Shark teeth are the only part of a shark that
fossilizes
- mtDNA can be extracted from shark teeth
and used for genetic population analysis
Corner: Pliocene Teeth
- Saber tooth tiger
- Mammoth and mastodon diet
(pressed plant specimens)
- Carnivores vs Omnivores vs
Herbivores
Wall: Modern Teeth
- Elephants and comparison to
the mastodon/mammoth teeth
- Also talk about the ivory trade and
its impact on elephant populations
- Human teeth
- Mirror saying “open wide” and what
the teeth say about you
- How to take care of your teeth
Corner: Anthropology and Culture
- Anthro specimens and tools made with
teeth
- Statement from an indegenous person
as to what these objects mean in
relation to culture
- Using entire organism/not being wasteful
- Specimens (examples):
- Accession number 4102 2-4008
- Accession number 2075 8102
- Accession number 1979-53
1975-53/NFC/36
- Accession number 1999-75
1999-75/80A
- Significance of teeth in Western culture
- Tooth Fairy
- Dentistry
Center Island: Big Specimens
- Gorgonopsid skull
- Origins of teeth for carnivorous animals
- Trex skull
- Talk about bite force and diet
- 3d printed teeth for people to feel (dulled)
- 3d scanned teeth
- Mammoth and Mastodon skull
- Detailed comparison of their teeth
- Match the teeth to the diet interactive
- Dental diorama
- Braces and dentist teeth specimens
All Specimens
1. Mastodon jaw S. #83279 L. #C1056 9. Trex skull/ teeth #99000.001
2. Mammoth jaw S. #108501 L. #C2393 10. Megalodon teeth S. #59007 L. CO180
3. Helicoprion jaw (borrowed from American Museum of 11. Mosasaurus teeth S. #61252 L. #C0211
Natural History) 12. Sabertooth tiger S. #90770 L. #C0085
4. Pressed plants of diets (assorted) 13. Tools made of teeth (see anthropology and culture slide)
5. Gorgonopsid skull UWBM VP 98542 14. Dentist teeth molds (commission)
6. Elephant teeth S. #80795 L. #C0636 15. Dentist diorama (commission)
7. Hadrosaur tooth batteries (borrowed from Denver
Museum of Nature and Science)
8. Ceratopsid tooth batteries S. #117152 L. #C3060
Audience
- Children
- Promoting good dental hygiene
- Families
- General reading level ranging from 2nd grade (general info) to 6th grade
(more advanced info)
Engagement and Outreach
- Social media
- #toothtalk
- Sharing pics of baby teeth smiles
- More comprehensive 3D model with a walkthrough of the exhibit
Sources
- https://www.miamicosmeticdentalcare.com/teeth-herbivores-carnivores-omnivores/
- https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/news-posts/mammoth-or-mastodon
- https://www.miamicosmeticdentalcare.com/teeth-herbivores-carnivores-omnivores/
- https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.20978
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_tooth