Toothy Treasures

October 2014
Written By: 
Julie Flanagan
Photographs by: 
Carrie Guemann
These popular beach finds are in abundance as sharks shed thousands of teeth in a lifetime
It takes about 10,000 years for a shark tooth to fossilize. The most commonly found shark teeth fossils are from 65,000 years ago (the Cenozoic era).

Not attached to gums on a root like human teeth.

Shark’s tooth shape is dependent upon its diet. Some have razor-like teeth to tear flesh, some have piercing teeth to cut flesh and some have dense, flattened teeth because they eat only mollusks.

Best time to look for teeth on the beach is after a storm (the bigger the better) or an hour or two before high tide.

Never run out of teeth. If one is lost, another spins forward from the rows and rows of back up teeth.

Typically lose at least one tooth per week and teeth can be replaced within a day of losing one.