A tooth belonging to John Lennon is to go on show at a Bristol dental studio, or at least part of it is.

The musician’s tooth was bought at auction for £19,000 by Michael Duk – an author, dentist and obsessive collector of celebrity teeth who is also the proud owner of one of Elvis Presley’s crowns.

The tooth had been in the family of Lennon’s former housekeeper Dot Jarlett. John gave it to her to dispose of, sometime between 1964 and 1968, but then suggested she keep the tooth to give to her daughter, a big Beatles fan, citing it may be worth something one day. She recently had to sell the tooth to pay for a family member’s operation.

Omega Auction House, which listed the item, told that because it was coming from Jarlett, they didn’t doubt the tooth’s authenticity.
Part of the tooth has been turned into a DNA necklace by famous Beverley Hills jewellery designer Ari Soffer and is valued at $25,000. Clifton Dental’s Dr Neil Gerrard has borrowed the ‘John Lennon DNA Tooth Necklace’ to highlight Mouth Cancer, and will be providing free mouth cancer screenings on November 21. People will also be able to wear the ‘tooth’ necklace and have their picture taken.

Dr Neil Gerrard said: “We are holding this event to offer Bristol people a chance to diagnose mouth cancer to catch it early rather than late.“But it will be a fun day, you even get to wear John Lennon’s tooth around your neck and have a picture taken too.”“With around 7,800 Brits diagnosed with mouth cancer last year, the disease is one of the UK’s fastest increasing cancers, with cases rising by a third in the last decade alone.