I hate Halloween store fangs. My inner Goth girl goes nuts for them and I try not to fondle them in the store too much. My outer perfectionist can't stand that they never fit right. Most are way too long for my small mouth. If I get them positioned where the top of the tooth meets the gum line, I can't close my mouth. If I can close my mouth, the fangs go way too far over my gumline and look clearly fake. The color doesn't match my teeth either and I always end up with high hopes and sad, sad realities.
I've always had dreams of having a set of custom fangs. As much as I'd like to, I can't afford to have them made for me, but I do know my way around a sculpting project. After some clever YouTube- and Google-fu, I found some instructions that seemed simple enough... make mold of teeth, sculpt teeth on positive mold and go! I've got experience sculpting, so this should be easy-peasy, right?
Nope.
The steps themselves are simple enough. It's the making realistic-looking teeth that are a good size for me that took some trial and error. I also had trouble with my materials interacting in undesirable ways. Turns out plastic loves to stick to plastic. (I knew this.) This project, which I thought I could bang out in an afternoon, ended up taking me 2 days. I ended up with 2 pairs of fangs that I was pretty happy with in the end and about 3 additional pairs that I broke. Easy.
Yeeeah.
I spent around $30.00 (US) for the entire project, but already some of the materials lying around. Mine fit decently well without some sort of adhesive, but they're a little loose. This could be because of the petroleum jelly I was using to keep the acrylic from destroying my mold again. I've got enough of the stuff to make several molds and teeth, so my cost-per-product is much cheaper.
Skill level: Intermediate- advanced. Experience with sculpting will be very useful.
If you're not experienced, don't worry. I'm happy to answer any questions you have.
We're working with nail acrylic, which is very similar to dental acrylic and these products contain some stinky, not-so-great to inhale for long periods of time chemicals. So because I don't want to get sued...
Warning!
Do this project in a well-ventilated area. DO NOT wear your fangs until they've cured for at least 24 hours after painting. These are for costume purposes only so DO NOT bite anyone with them. Do not share your fangs with other people, they will break. Do not eat with them in. Drink through a straw if possible. Try not to swallow them. Do not play sports with them in. Do not sleep with them in. Do not attempt this project if you are currently wearing braces. YOU SHOULD look sexy and vampy in them.
If you are getting a headache or are feeling a little sick while sculpting the fangs, take a break and go outside for some fresh air. If you are having trouble breathing, get some fresh air and DISCONTINUE THIS PROJECT. If you are a minor, do this project under the supervision of an adult.
Nail acrylic is safe once dried and cured, but if you're worried about it, don't wear your fangs for extended periods of time. If you feel sick while wearing them, remove them immediately. If anything in this warning has made you doubt doing this project, enjoy reading about my fails and DO NOT DO IT. If you do this project based on the information here, you assume all responsibility.
We cool?
Time: 1 hour or less, not including drying times once you know what you're doing.
Supplies:
I got the casting resin from my local
Michael's and the nail acrylic kit from my local
Walgreen's. Poly clay can be found at craft or art stores and some big box stores in the craft section.
- Nail acrylic kit (if you are worried about putting this stuff in your mouth, go ahead and splurge on the dental acrylic online.)
- polymer clay
- Casting resin. I'm using the brand AMAZING Casting Resin . Other products I've seen used include epoxy and good ol' plaster
- Nail polish in beige, white, yellow, and clear
- Nail file/medium grit sandpaper
- Small paper cup
- Disposable or metal palette
- Baby oil/mineral oil
- Petroleum jelly
- paintbrush
Supplies I didn't have but wish I did:
- disposable gloves
- rotary tool
Make Negative Mold of Teeth
Warm up the poly clay by kneading it for a minute or so them shape into a large, fat crescent moon shape. It should have a thickness of at least 2 inches. Bite hard into the clay, making sure that you go deep enough into the clay to get your gums as well as your teeth. Make sure you get the teeth around wherever you are putting the fangs, especially if you're putting it on the canines. That first premolar can be a useful place to help the caps stick. Gently remove the clay from your teeth by puling the clay downward. Check your mold to make sure your teeth have a good, clean impression in the clay.
Make Positive Mold of Teeth.
Put the clay with your tooth impression into a snug disposable (paper) container with sides higher than your mold. I did not do this step, and it's cleaner if you do as I say and not as I do. Put on your disposable gloves. Mix your casting resin according to the directions on the package. AMAZING Casting Resin has a 1:1 mixing ratio, so pour 1 part of the clear and the yellow liquid into the provided measuring cups, pour both cups into your paper cup and stir until the gel becomes clear again. You do not need much. The amount shown is actually way too much. Pour slowly over your clay to prevent bubbles. Cover completely and wait for it to cure. AMAZING Casting Resin takes about 5 minutes. Wait until it's completely cool before unmolding.
Unmold
Remove the poly clay from your new positive mold. Make sure to clean the resin mold well by using baby or mineral oil to get rid of all of the poly clay.
Sculpt general shape of teeth
Apply a layer of petroleum jelly on the the tooth you're working on and the adjoining teeth. So if you're working on a set of fangs for the canine teeth, put petroleum jelly on the bicuspid and the first premolar as well as the canine. A thicker layer seems to work better than a thinner layer. Use a paintbrush to get in all the nooks and crannies.
Plastic loves to stick to plastic. If your positive mold is ANY sort of plastic, this step is important!
This is not an issue with plaster.
Dip the paintbrush into the nail acrylic liquid and then into the powder to get a ball of acrylic gel on the brush. Place ball gently on tooth, push, and pat the gel into a tooth-like shape. The wetter the brush, the bigger the ball and the quicker the gel dries. This can be both a good and a bad thing, so I try to aim for a damp brush and a 1 cm ball, give or take. Pile the gel on the tip of the tooth and pat into a pointed shape. Get the back of the tooth to make a cap. Go slightly above the gumline to make for a more realistic tooth. Put more at the top than you think you need. You'll take care of the excess in the next step. Let the acrylic dry slightly before adding another ball to make it less goopy. I worked a little on one and then moved to the other to give it time to harden.
Pay attention and use the shape of the tooth to make a realistic point. if you extend the lines of your tooth, it may not end in a point at the midline of the tooth. Making an exact copy is very difficult, so make siblings, not twins. Stop, check the shapes against each other,
check alignment and add more gel.
I removed the fangs at this point as I was paranoid about getting them off after my first attempt. I'm not sure that's a good idea and may contribute to my teeth not fitting quite right. Let the teeth cure for a few minutes.
File the teeth into shape
If I had a rotary tool, this step would not have taken me so long. Instead, I used a nail file which works just fine, just takes longer. If you don't have either, use a medium grit sandpaper. Use the rotary tool on its lowest setting to avoid breaking the fang. Keep the tooth cap on the mold for now and begin to sand away at the excess material, refining the shape of your fang until you're happy with it. Make the profile of the fang just little larger than your own teeth. Examine from several different angles while still on the mold to make sure that the lines of the fang are similar to your own teeth. This will make it look better and feel more comfortable. File until the tooth is smooth and the point is how you like it. Don't forget to work on the back of the tooth, too. that needs to be in a similar line with the rest of your teeth so that it's not uncomfortable when you close your mouth.
Take the tooth off the positive mold and refine the top edge of the tooth and the point of the fang, but leaving any overlap that happens on the other teeth in the back. This will help in keeping the tooth in. Be very gentle here. It may be best to do this part with a nail file to avoid breaking the tooth.
Paint teeth
Mix a drop of the white, beige, and yellow to a healthy pour of the clear to create a very pale wash of nail color. It should be translucent. Paint onto the fang, let dry, and add another wash. Layer the color slowly until you get the color you want. Teeth have a translucent quality to them so don't load up too much on the color. If your teeth are whiter than mine, add more white. If they're yellower, add more of the beige and yellow, but only a drop at a time. I found that a couple of thin layers was all I needed for teeth that blended well with my own.
LET THE TEETH CURE FOR AT LEAST 24 HOURS BEFORE WEARING. If you test the teeth and find you don't like how they sit, gently file until you get a shape you like on your tooth. Beware that this can change how the fang cap fits on your tooth.
If the teeth feel a little loose, dry your tooth and add a dab of denture adhesive to the inside of the fang. Slip the tooth on and hold in place for about half a minute and then enjoy!
I wore these for a few hours as a test run and they held great! I did experience some cheek and jaw pain from holding my mouth in an unusual position for a while, but I blame the fibromyalgia, which acts up when I'm breathing.
All in all, despite all of the problems, I'm happy with how they turned out. I think they'll be a great costume addition to my stash. I have big plans for them soon! These are going to be a part of my costume for SoonerCon coming up at the end of June.
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