romat

I am looking for information concerning CEMENTUM ANNULI, growth ring in deer teeth. Is there any way I can do this at home? The process of aging by wear has proven to be not accurate for me.

glew22

Yes, you could do it at home if you have a SEM (scanning electron microscope). I'm assuming you don't have one, so I suggest pulling two incisors and sending them to madson labs in GA. I suggest pulling and sending 2 so that you create a double blind experiment.

uncle matt

You have go to be kidding

heinz57

remove the incisors from the jaw bone ,saw it in half ,let it dry and use a good magnifing glass to see the rings ..

timbercruiser

You would probably need to use a simple ink of some kind to make the rings show up better wouldn't you Heinz?

heinz57

no ink will not work ..after you have cut the tooth in half use a bit of heat to dry out the tooth and the rings will show up better.you have to cut the tooth on the top with a fine hack saw blade [32 teeth per inch] then i use sandpaper to polish the tooth where i made my cut ..

glew22

How reliable is this? I've been told that even sending them to a lab specializing in cementum annuli will only get you 90%-95% accurate results. Also, I've been told that just the process of removing an incisor from a jawbone can damage some of the growth rings. I just find it hard to believe that the method you outlined can provide truly accurate results consistently. If you're not guaranteed 100% accurate results from a lab with highly specialized equipment and personnel, I question what one could do in the backyard with a saw, some sandpaper, and a magnifying glass.

romat

I am going to try it, won't cost a dime. I used to perform weld depth penetration tests for the Honda Corporation using a saw, (at first sandpaper to 600+ grit) and then a specialized machine, and a mixture of acid and alcohol to bring out detail. I might be able to do this age test. I will repost results.
Thanks all!

heinz57

you can't damage the growth rings by removing the incisor ,yes they are fragile [the tooth] so remove very carefully. they are very easy to break .. use only the 2 front ones..90%- 95% is better than NOTHING ..

glew22

I'm not trying to bust b@ll$, but I have been told by multiple reputable biologists that during the extraction process, growth rings can be removed, and the sample can be compromised.