Deep in the wilderness near Little Fort, British Columbia, in the 1950s, Francis Wharton found himself in need of a new pair of dentures.
Far from any dentist and undeterred by his isolation, the inventive hunter took matters into his own hands—quite literally. He shot a deer, extracted its teeth, and crafted his own upper denture. Then he turned around and ate the deer—using the deer’s own teeth.
Homemade Innovation in the Wild
Wharton filed down the deer’s teeth, mounted them into a base made from plastic wood, and secured the whole structure with household cement.
According to Kathy Karkut, collections manager at the Museum of Health Care in Kingston, Ontario—where the dentures are now displayed—Wharton used the set for at least three years. Though the teeth were reportedly dark, dirty, and loose, he was proud of the result and refused to pay for conventional dental work.
The Backwoods Wizard
Known as “The Backwoods Wizard,” Wharton was already something of a local legend. In 1960, Guns magazine profiled him, recounting how he once survived a bear attack by firing a .22-calibre rifle.
The bear wounded him, prompting Wharton to begin crafting large-caliber firearms of his own design. In one incident, after a bear killed his pet ram, he hunted down and killed eight bears in response—and, once again, ate the meat with the deer-tooth dentures.
Unorthodox and Unrecommended
Wharton’s DIY approach drew attention not just from writers like Guns columnist John Taffin, but also from dental professionals. Dr. Bruce Ward of the B.C. Dental Association commented on the technical challenges of building a well-fitting denture and noted the health risks of using non-sterile materials.
Despite acknowledging Wharton’s ingenuity, he strongly advised against repeating such methods. Nonetheless, Wharton’s dentures remain a tangible reminder of one man’s extreme resourcefulness in the Canadian wilderness.
