The Institute of Marine Research calls on all children to collaborate in the annual “Ratoncito Pérez Collection” tooth-collection campaign.

If you are going to CULTURGAL in Pontevedra this Saturday, don’t forget the teeth that have fallen out and look for the CSIC cart!

The collection will take place on 26 November at CULTURGAL (Pontevedra), from 12:00 to 13:30 and from 16:30 to 18:30, at the CSIC Cart

Why do we want your teeth?

The National Research Centre on Human Evolution (CENIEH) organises an annual campaign to collect children’s baby teeth for scientific purposes, ranging from the study of human evolution to forensic and dental analyses.

The campaign, running continuously since 2014, is part of the “Ratoncito Pérez Collection” project, an initiative of the Dental Anthropology group at CENIEH and its Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit. The collection already includes more than 3,000 pieces.

In Galicia, the Spanish National Research Council participates in the campaign through the Scientific Culture Unit of its Institutional Delegation.

As in the 2021 edition, the collection will take place on Saturday 26 November at CULTURGAL (Pontevedra). CSIC Galicia UCC staff will be there from 12:00 to 13:30 and from 16:30 to 18:30 at the CSIC Cart, collecting baby teeth from families who wish to join the initiative.

All participants will receive a diploma and a gift for taking part. Before handing in the pieces, parents or legal guardians must complete a questionnaire with several details and sign a consent form explaining the use that will be given to the pieces.

One of the aims of this initiative is to allow scientists from anywhere in the world and from different fields, such as archaeology, forensic anthropology, oral and dental medicine or palaeoanthropology, to access in person or virtually the data from this large collection of teeth from children born in the 21st century for their own studies.

CSIC in Galicia is the only Galician entity participating in this dental-piece collection campaign, although CENIEH hopes to extend its reach to other regions and take it to other countries such as Argentina and Australia.