beachgal Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 We just found our first mammoth tooth and am looking for the best way to preserve it. It was found in the gulf of mexico and has a significant amount of sediment growth on it. We soaked it for 1 day and pulled it out of the fresh water to admire and left it sitting on the table. Later that night the end piece without the sediment on it started to crack and a small section of the enamel fell off. I super glued it back on and returned it to the bucket of fresh water. Is it a good idea to leave the sediment on or try to carefully remove it and is it common for the dentine to be soft and crumble as it starts to dry out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calhounensis Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 You need to keep soaking the tooth in fresh water and replacing it with new water every day. Do that for several weeks, the longer the better. After the salt has been removed you can begin to preserve it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raggedy Man Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 As the info you're looking for has been shared, I will just say congrats on your first mammoth tooth! ...I'm back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Dentin is found within the enamel plates. What holds the enamel plates together is cementum, the softest and most vulnerable of the tooth materials. If it were my tooth, I might try this: After the freshwater baths, I might give it a bath in a mild laundry-bleach solution to loosen the marine growth. Then, I would gently scrub the tooth with a soft brush (like an old toothbrush) to remove whatever crud you can. In all of this manipulation, support the tooth along its full length, but don't worry too much as long as breaks are clean -- the tooth parts can later be glued together. (You are just complicating the process of stabilizing the tooth by immediately gluing the parts back together.) The most stable position for the tooth until it is in a drying bed may be on its occlusal (grinding) surface. Once the tooth is clean (and perhaps in several pieces), let it dry for a week, or so. (Some collectors advocate a slow-drying regimen, but I've never bothered with that.) Support the tooth as it dries. A cake pan half-filled with sand or rice, covered with Saran Wrap, makes a supportive drying bed. Once dry, I would use my infra-red lamp to heat the tooth (see the suggestions in my Profile page). Without handling the tooth, I would use a turkey baster to apply a plastic consolidant to the pieces of tooth, focusing on the cementum. A few hours later, you should be able to take the tooth from its bed to glue together loose pieces. Let us know how it goes. Good luck! 4 http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruitbat Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Regarding the plastic consolidant that Harry mentioned above, there are a number that are available (but can be hard to find). Butvar B-76 is an excellent choice if you can find it but I've also had luck with Varathane (the crystal clear polyurethane variety) diluted to about 1/2 strength with mineral spirits. The varathane and mineral spirits are usually available in any of your local hardware stores. -Joe 1 Illigitimati non carborundum Fruitbat's PDF Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachgal Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Thanks for all of your help!! We appreciate it. I'll let y'all know how it turns out. Happy hunting!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 That's an awesome tooth to find out there, congrats! : ) Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Members Tammy48 Posted March 21, 2021 New Members Share Posted March 21, 2021 Hi, This information about perserving a mammoth tooth was very helpful. I recently found a tooth here in Washington and wanted to know how to keep it preserved. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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