Dental and periodontal diseases and abnormalities in wild‐caught marmosets (primates — callithricidae)

Examination of 904 skulls of wild caught marmosets revealed 92 with diseased teeth and alveolar infections. The number of affected teeth and alveoli was 259 or 0.9% of the total number of teeth including alveoli. Dental abnormalities such as super‐numeraries, congenital assymetries, and postpartum injuries were noted in 14 skulls. The diseased individuals appeared in 83 of the 207 collecting localities, and constitute nearly 22% of the 488 specimens from those sites. Difference between the proportion of diseased upper teeth (9.4%), and lower teeth (8.3%) of all teeth examined, is insignificant. There is indication, however, that the lower the proportion of diseased antepremolar teeth, the higher the proportion of diseased postcanine teeth, and vice versa. Incidence of diseases is practically nil in juveniles and sub‐adults, but rises rapidly in late maturity and old age. Fine line cracking or crazing of the enamel in marmoset teeth is briefly described and compared with same phenomenon in other mammals including man. Crazing is attributed to the cumulative effects of bite impact. It is absent in deciduous and unworn permanent primate teeth and absent or uncommon in mammalian teeth adapted to an insectivorous diet.