This is something that I have wanted to touch on for a while now.

It may not be obvious from the photos but I generally (ie almost never nowadays) put upper teeth into my fursuit heads (saberfangs are an obvious exception but they still do not include incisors or molars). I do have suits out there with upper jawsets but they are the exceptions.

I feel this is worth noting because every head I make I tend to struggle with the idea that whomever gets it will be disappointed or confused about this and I wonder if this particular head I am making (whatever it is at the moment) should be the exception. Although I do not work in a purely realistic style and so not feel tethered to making things totally true to life, teeth are something even toony Disney characters have as an important part of expression so it might not be something that occurs to folks could be omitted.

However, fursuit heads are a bit more restricted than cartoon characters. Notably in that they have a fixed expression. Generally that expression is contented or happy. Relaxed. Subtle, mild expressions.

I like to put the most effort into parts of my costumes that make the most difference - the construction, the fit, the eyes, the markings, etcetc. A person can go crazy over adding things that no one (not even the wearer) will really notice or utilize when all that does is turn you into a frenzy or drive up the labour cost that gets passed on to the customer. Aside from the occasional photo here and there taken at an extreme angle, the upper teeth tend to be hidden behind the lips in a relaxed animal and simply not visible to anyone watching. This has got to be the definition of wasted effort.

From a wearability standpoint, IME upper jaw sets with a palate tend to heavily restrict airflow. I once owned a head (not made by myself) with a full upper jaw installed and I ended up just taking it out because I was unable to breath properly since the air had no way to exit the mouth. It would just circulate around and around my nose. (It is however worth noting that upper teeth with no palate do not restrict airflow so not every head WITH them is somehow flawed)

From a purely construction aspect, making the upper and lower teeth match up can actually be a pretty huge pain to do. I hate hate with the power of a million suns when the upper teeth or lower teeth are placed too far back in the mouth to be realistic (to offset the opposite jawset), but it is something I have seen done by others often simply because making the teeth meet and mesh properly (and then stay that way) can be really rather tricky.

And then when you do get them to mesh well and look good, suddenly the entire mouth has no airflow because the front of the mouth has been sealed. Air is rather important and I will take that over a set of invisible-from-the-outside incisors any day. Having to prop open a moving jaw with your chin for the entire time you are suiting is *really* just no fun.

There are exceptions. Angry snarling animals need upper teeth certainly, but I'll be honest and say that isn't something my customers tend to request from me. Super realistic might work better with the entire jaw set, but again that isn't something I personally tend to work in.

As stated above, I do install fangs when needed. But generally only when they are a defining part of the character. Yes an animal's canines tend to be a bit more visible than the rest of the upper teeth, but they still don't tend to walk around showing them off all of the time so including those could easily be misunderstood by the public or make the relaxed expression of the mask a bit stressed and unclear.

Anyways, those are my thoughts. Hopefully put into some sort of understandable order. I'll probably add this info to my website FAQ at some point.


(If anyone who does make fursuit heads with full jawsets reads this and comments, you *really* don't need to defend your position in the comments. This journal is about my personal preferences and making people aware of my preferred construction styles and reasons behind them.)