Tooth Wear vs. Cementum Annuli

Sling · 12-23-2005, 06:15 PM

The latest issue of Quality Whitetails does not give a glowing review of the tooth wear technique for aging whitetails. Have any of you given up on this method and gone to a lab (cementum Annuli)?

I am not crazy about the prices ($20 - $40 per pair of teeth), but I would definitely like to be ableseparate a 2.5-year old from a 3.5 or 4.5-year old buck with some level of certainty. I am not as worried about the does, but it is still nice to know the exact age.

In your QDM programs, are you sticking with the tooth wear technique for now, or is it time for a change?

farm hunter · 12-23-2005, 08:07 PM

Our small property program manages for 2.5 and older. While it would be NICE to know the age of deer over 2.5 yrs - we really don't care at this point.

Teeth and body weight work well enough for us.

FH

timbercruiser · 12-24-2005, 04:57 PM

I wouldn't say that tooth wear is useless, but it isn't as reliable as it was once touted to be. I saw one example where a deer was tagged and aged at 2 1/2 and three years later it was captured again and was once again aged at 2 1/2.

BrutalAttack · 12-24-2005, 08:55 PM

There are indices out there that, when done correctly, can estimate ages almost as reliably as CE. They usually are a composite of body measurements including tooth wear, body weight and some others. CE is still considered the standard in the scientific field in terms of accuracy. Searching for aging techniques in the Journal of Wildlife Management may yield you more information on the indices of which I speak. I'll take a quick look this week and see if I can point you to some references.

Sling · 12-26-2005, 06:37 PM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: BrutalAttack

Searching for aging techniques in the Journal of Wildlife Management may yield you more information on the indices of which I speak. I'll take a quick look this week and see if I can point you to some references.

If you happen to see something, that would be great. Thanks.

Deleted User · 12-27-2005, 05:40 AM

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Sling · 12-31-2005, 03:59 PM

Archer - Thanks for the info.

Have you had any problems with the roots breaking off or do the teeth come out pretty easy?

Rebel Hog · 12-31-2005, 05:14 PM

These are real close,

Deleted User · 01-02-2006, 04:56 PM

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BrutalAttack · 01-02-2006, 07:46 PM

The problem with tooth wear as an age estimator is that it is inherently variable and therefore inaccurate. It can be precise when done by an experienced individual but still suffers from inaccuracy. Tooth wear is really a tool for placing individual deer in a cohort or age class (ie age zero-two, two-four etc) and really isn't good at estimating the actual age to year, while cementum annuli isa more accurate method that can place individuals age by year.