Tooth Ware Aging

[Obsession]

Can tooth ware aging be skewed by the enviroment of where a deer live? For example, if a deer lives in a predominately hardwood forest habitat vs a deer that lives in an cropland area. It seems to me a deer which eats mostly acorns, greenbriar, etc. would have more ware than a deer that eats predominately crops.

 

[BlountArrow]

I've wondered the same thing, but as much as deer travel I'd say it averages out; especially in our neck of the woods.

 

[pass-thru]

there's a lot of different factors that can affect it....soil type, browse, genetics, even the way the deer chews. The textbook sets a minimum age.

 

[Mike Belt]

Yes but then if all the deer from the same area wear basically the same, adjustments on tooth wear aging could be made to cover that difference.

 

[BSK]

Obsession,

That would make logical sense, although I have not seen a study testing that hypothesis.

 

[Swole Neck]

The ones that live in rock quarries are usually all 6.5 or 7.5 years old.

 

[Bone Collector]

is there some sort of reference online that shows how to age looking at the teeth? I have never understood how you guys can tell looking at the jawbone but i assume there is a reference somewhere.

 

[BSK]

is there some sort of reference online that shows how to age looking at the teeth? I have never understood how you guys can tell looking at the jawbone but i assume there is a reference somewhere.

It is called the "Severinghaus Tooth Replacement and Wear" aging technique. Google it. It is based on when different teeth first erupt through the gum, when milk (baby) teeth are replaced with permanent teeth, and how rapidly teeth wear during the whitetailed deer life cycle.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Take my opinion on this as it ain't worth a nickel. I don't know anything about jawbones. Ha all I can do is look at pictures and compare. But logical sense would say that a deer eating grasses and AG fields his entire life would have less wear than a deer eating acorns 6-7 months out of the year for his entire life.

 

[shopson]

So you think when acorns drop deer in ag areas don't go find acorns? And acorns are not that hard. Not as hard as a kernel of corn.

 

[BSK]

Take my opinion on this as it ain't worth a nickel. I don't know anything about jawbones. Ha all I can do is look at pictures and compare. But logical sense would say that a deer eating grasses and AG fields his entire life would have less wear than a deer eating acorns 6-7 months out of the year for his entire life.

That is a very plausible hypothesis.

 

[fairchaser]

Some deer may have TMJ and grind their teeth especially in high pressure hunting areas. Could this affect their tooth wear? I like to chew ice so I'm thinking northern deer may have more relative wear on their teeth. Seriously, when ageing bucks using tooth wear, other factors are also considered such as body confirmation, antler mass, etc. to determine age. So the tooth wear becomes a confirming factor in most cases. Does are a different matter however. JMO

 

[shopson]

Times have changed. I remember when TWRA biologists were needed to age a deer by looking at the teeth. Now most TnDeer members can age them just by looking at them, dead or alive.