Rotten Teeth

$5 - $7 (based on 2015 prices)

Makes twelve teeth  

No eccentric laboratory or demented butcher shop is complete without a few rotten teeth scattered around. You can use them to fill unlabeled specimen jars, decorate a gory tablescape, or create fashionable jewelry. Plus, this project is simple and cheap (after making a dozen large teeth, I still had enough compound for other projects). 

• One 6 oz. container of soft modeling compound*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat brown*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat white*
• One 0.44 oz. bottle of clear nail polish*
  

1. Form the modeling compound into the shape of teeth. It may help to keep a medical book nearby for quick reference. Since human teeth are rather small, you may want to make your versions slightly larger than their real-life counterparts. This ensures that they are easier to see.

2. Allow the compound to dry. I let mine sit out overnight. Do not worry too much if the drying process produces small cracks in the dough. They will be covered up by the paint (or you can use the cracks to make the teeth appear extremely old and worn). 

3. Apply several even coats of white paint to the teeth. I used two; however, you may want more or less depending on your desired coverage. 

4. Give the teeth a smudging of brown paint. You do not want an even coat. Rather, you want a series of lighter and darker hues with areas of white still showing. I found that apply a small amount of paint to your thumb and index finger and rubbing it onto the prop works well. 

5. To give the teeth a little more definition and additional rot, use black paint to fill in fissures along the crown and darken the area around the roots. If you chose not to cover the cracks formed by the drying process, you can enhance their appearance too. 

6. Brush the teeth with one or two coats of clear nail polish to give them a glossy finishing that simulates enamel.

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.