Part I: Toothy adaptations in nature: the specialists. Vampire bats don't suck -- Candirus: be careful where you go -- Horses: long in the tooth -- The tusked and the tuskless -- Fangs a lot -- Poop on the beach: the good kind -- Shrews: tiny in size, major in attitude -- Bite this! -- Part II: Who, what, where, and how many? By the teeth of their skin -- A painless guide to tooth basics -- Part III: Teeth, who needs 'em? Of fish and frogs -- Dinosaurs, turtles, birds, and dresser drawers -- Toothless mammals, from anteaters to whales -- Part IV: Human teeth: the bad old days and beyond. A man of few words. . . and fewer teeth -- Jaw jewelery, pliers, and pelicans -- Tooth worms -- Wisdom teeth, baby teeth, and the tooth fairy -- To infinity and beyond. . . the dental chair

"A longtime research associate in zoology at the American Museum of Natural History, Bill Schutt turns his expertise to teeth, taking readers on a fascinating and sometimes creepy journey through their natural, scientific, and cultural history, arguing that tooth evolution has been the most important factor to vertebrate species' success"--