After spending a considerable amount of time trying different techniques, I have pretty much settled on using Sculpy III in various red colors from "maroon" through to "dusty rose." The teeth are themselves are Sculpy III's "Translucent", which comes the closest to looking like the real thing when baked & varnished.
I usually start by shaping the tongue & the teeth first & then baking them seperately from the rest of the dragon. While they're baking, I go on to make the roof, back, and underside of the tongue out of red clay & getting them situated inside the mouth. After the tongue and teeth are cooled, I put the tongue in to see how it fits in proportion to the rest of the mouth. If it looks okay, I connect the bottom of the mouth to the bottom of the tongue.
Now comes the part I hate: Setting the teeth. First of all, I roll out a coil of red clay the same color as I made the inside of the mouth. Inevitably, when I set the teeth into the coil, I find that the coil is too thick. So I mutter, take the teeth out, and roll a smaller coil... which is usually too small when I attempt to embed the teeth. So, I mutter some more, take it apart (again), and roll another coil. Usually, the third attempt is "just right" (shades of Goldilocks!) and I get the teeth set & the entire gum line attached to the upper jaw. I then take a deep breath & repeat the process with the lower gum and teeth. And, usually wind up knocking half the teeth in the upper jaw out while getting the lower set in!! Baking between the sets of teeth doesn't work, either, since I have to blend-in the line between the gums & the rest of of the inside of the mouth & I still knock the teeth out! Grrrr...! Good thing Super Glue © bakes okay...
After I've got the gums and teeth attached to the inside of the mouth & everything put where it should be, I bake the dragon to cure the inside of the mouth. When that has cooled, I make the thin membrane that reptiles have at the corners of their mouths, attach it & and rebake the whole.
Done... one dragon mouth!! Thank heavens!!!
