Elvis Tooth sold at auction to Beatle Dentist

Feb. 28, 2012 - PRLog -- According to documentation provided by the auction house, the porcelain tooth and models of Elvis Presley's mouth belonged to the late Dr. Henry Weiss of Memphis, Tennessee. Elvis had a space between his front teeth that he wanted closed so he had the dentist close the gap with a crown/cap.

The porcelain cap had a tendency to crack during performances (perhaps from hitting the microphone) so the dentist had a number of crowns ready as replacement. According to the dentist's son, Elvis broke a crown on February 22, 1971 while performing in Las Vegas and the dentist sent his son with a spare crown to replace the fractured ceramic tooth.

The reserve crown was always kept on the models the dentist made from impressions of Elvis' mouth.

Dr. Michael Zuk bid just over $5000 British Pounds for the items, which were expected to attract twice the fee. Dr. Zuk is quoted as saying, "I probably have enough celebrity teeth already but I wouldn't mind a set of dental casts from the mouth of Tom Cruise and a crown from one of his front teeth...that would complete my collection."

The famous tooth already has a website at www.ElvisTooth.com.

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Michael Zuk DDS is the author of several books including a new one for children titled 'Teeth Shouldn't Hurt'. He practices in Alberta, Canada and lectures to dentists on marketing and conservative cosmetic dental treatment.