Can You Tell the Age of a Deer by Its Antlers?

One of the questions I get asked a lot is “Can you tell the age of a deer by its antlers?”

You can’t necessarily use antler size to judge a deer’s age. However, body structure does have some bearing on age.

1. The Third Tooth

A deer’s lower jaw consists of incisors (the teeth next to the cheek) in the front, premolars and molars in the back. These teeth are covered by enamel, which is the hard, white outer layer of a tooth.

In the back of the jaw, the molars have lingual crests that are next to the tongue and buccal crests that are on the cheek side of the jaw. These crests have points or projections on them, which are called cusps.

As a deer ages, the teeth wear down. This leads to the development of dentine, which is a darker color than the enamel.

Using the tooth replacement and wear technique, a white-tailed deer that is less than 2.5 years old can be aged by determining which teeth are present in its jawbone and how worn they are. For older deer, this method requires that the lower jawbone be removed or the mouth cut away so the teeth can be inspected.

2. The Third Teeth Color

A deer jaw consists of incisors in the front, premolars and molars in the back separated by a wide gap called the diastema.

A deer’s teeth are used for grabbing, breaking and grinding food as well as for chewing cud. A fawn will have up to five’milk teeth’, or premolars, and 2’milk molars’ in its lower jaw.

Adult deer will have up to six fully erupted teeth per side. These include three permanent premolars and three permanent molars.

To age a deer, you first look at the infundibulum (outside, next to tongue), lingual (inside, next to tongue) and buccal (front, inside) crests of its molars.

You then compare the dentine of the crests to the enamel on the tooth. If the dentine on a molar is twice as wide as the enamel, it means the deer is at least 3.5 years old. If not, then it is likely a 2.5-year-old. Then, you move on to the next molar.

3. The Third Teeth Shape

The third teeth, which are located along the jaw on each side of the mouth, are called premolars. They have ridges that run long ways, making them an ideal chewing surface for tough vegetation that deer eat.

The premolars and molars are the most robust teeth in a deer’s mouth. Teeth are made of enamel (white) and dentine (brown).

As deer grow, their teeth wear down. When a tooth is worn down, it exposes more of the brownish inner part of the tooth, called dentine.

As deer become 3-year-olds, the crests of their premolars and molars will begin to wear down. This will make it easier to see the dentine between the crests of their first and second premolars and molars.

4. The Third Teeth Length

Most mammals have a complement of teeth that start out as temporary sets (called incisors) and then develop into permanent sets (called premolars and molars). Deer are no exception.

The incisors are designed to grip onto and pull off food, while the premolars and molars grind it into small pieces that can be swallowed. Without these teeth, deer would not be able to eat.

Once a deer reaches its first birthday, it will begin to erupt its third molar, increasing its total jaw count to six teeth per side. The premolars will also erupt between 3 and 4 months of age.

The length of the third tooth is an important indicator for determining the age of a deer. It is measured from the infundibulum to the lingual crest on each side of the tooth.