Hairline Cracks in Teeth

How can you prevent teeth from cracking? I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong but nearly every tooth in all of my recently processed skulls have cracks in their teeth. The cracks usually occur around 2-3 weeks after the teeth have been whitened in peroxide. My skulls don't really stay in the freezer long and then I thaw them out in warm water overnight. They macerate at around 110 degrees, although my incubator has been at about 90 lately, and I never rapidly change the temperature of the water or the surroundings that the teeth are in.

After their done whitening in peroxide I dry them with a towel and then put them in deli cups to continue drying, after about 2-3 weeks the hairline cracks begin to appear, and not just in the canines. In the raccoon I process every single one of its teeth produced hairline cracks except for the incisors. I have no idea what the issue is. Could it be my room's temperature? All my skulls are kept in my bedroom which generally fluctuates from around 65-75 degrees depending on the weather outside and my theromostat.

I've also had hairline cracks appear in my Olive Baboon's canines, really pissed about those as I'm not sure I'll be able to remove them to repair them. The bobcat I finished processing a month or two ago is now showing hairline cracks in its canines and several molars. I'm stumped as to whats causing it. Is there anything I can do to stop them from appearing? I've heard of people filling teeth with glue but most of the teeth where the cracks appear don't have open roots so you can't fill them. Ugh someone please help me out.

 

Hmmm. Maybe that could be it.. I don't really pay attention to the humidity in my room. Its not bad enough to affect my insect collections but it could be causing my issues. I've never used paraloid before. I prefer my skulls unsealed. Does paraloid leave like a white coat over the teeth or does it dry clear? Could it actually prevent the teeth from cracking?

I'm not just having issues with the canine teeth in my skulls, its ALL of the teeth except the incisors. If I leave them long enough so they crack enough for me to separate them and glue them then the canines are an easy fix but that's not always a guarantee as it could rapidly crack and a piece could go exploding off into my room somewhere.

For molars there's no real way to fill them with epoxy as for many of my skulls' molars they're too small or shaped in such a way that I'd have to cut the root extremely high to be able to get to the hollow center, I've tried this before and all it results in is a shattered tooth or a tooth that is obviously missing its root when placed into the tooth socket. Gahh I never thought the one issue I'd have with processing skulls would be damn teeth cracking. I got no issues degreasing or macerating but the teeth annoy me to no damn end.

 

Gahh it doesn't sound to promising. I do have a skunk jaw that was sealed, or what I was told, it has one cracked tooth but not sure if it was like that when I bought it. Its teeth don't look bad, just really white and sorta fake looking if you look really really close. Bleh. If these were your skulls what would you do? Keep in mind these are skulls come from animals as small as minks so its not really feasible to clip the roots and seal them on some.

 

I think I might try using paraloid or an elmer's coat. Not sure yet. I don't think nail polish would be feasible. The skulls with issues are as small as 1.5" so if the teeth did end up cracking despite the nail polish it'd be a pain to try and remove it to repair the tooth. Someone suggested my teeth weren't drying thoroughly and that I was placing them in too dry an area too fast, which resulted in them drying rapidly and then cracking. Gunna see if I can find a more humid place to let them dry out, then slowly transition them to my bedroom. Gunna then let them sit for a couple weeks in the open before I put them in the skull, this way if any cracks occur I can split the tooth and repair it easily, which is what I did for my raccoon and now its perfect with no visible cracks in any of its teeth even though every single tooth split. If anyone else has any ideas please let me know.

 

Hmm I didn't think that would be an issue as the teeth are still in the skull and full of tissue and such... Hmm maybe I'll leave the skulls to thaw overnight in a bucket in my second room rather than in the sink in hot water. At what point would maceration be an issue for them? Because when I have the correct bulbs for my incubator the temperatures get up to around 100-110 degrees although it usually stays around 105.

 

So what changes do you suggest I make? I'm definitely no longer going to thaw skulls in my sink anymore but is there anything else I could do to prevent cracks? I was advised by someone else to dry them in a more humid area, around 35%, would that help? Because I checked yesterday and my room's humidity is barely at 5%. It's probably why my skulls dry out so fast and I don't have any issues with my insect collections XD I think I'm going to start leaving the teeth in the basement to finish drying, as its a bit cooler down their and more humid.

 

That's the issue my room has no humidity at all. I was hoping that as long as the teeth dried slowly that they wouldn't crack. My room has next to 0% humidity almost all the time. A humidifier wouldn't be good for my health, humidity makes me sick, and insect collections are actually best kept in the most dry conditions you can supply for them. I've had my insect collections for around 2-3 years now. No damage or pest infestations (knock on wood) and I don't want to risk that with added humidity. There has to be some step I can change that will stop the teeth from cracking, as all my entomologist friends really recommend dry conditions for insect collections. Ugh I really don't wanna have to buy a closed glass display case or something. I know so many people who process the same way I do and have no cracking issues.