“Inside the Dental Practice: 1860-1940,” at the Sindecuse Museum in the School of Dentistry, depicts the transformations in dentistry from the mid 19th through the early 20th centuries — changes that had a dramatic impact on the profession and ultimately the health and well-being of the public.
The school, established by the state legislature in 1875, was in the vanguard of many of those changes. The exhibit explores the rise of dental education and professionalism, the advent of scientific discoveries, the application of innovations in technology, the growth of dental hygiene, the introduction of equipment sterilization techniques, the impact of fluoridation on public health dentistry, and more.
Photo by Per Kjeldsen.
The exhibit also showcases the evolution of dentistry from a trade initially practiced by barbers, blacksmiths and occasionally quacks to a profession that required higher education and the ability to apply new scientific discoveries and breakthroughs in technology for the benefit of dental patients.
It is accompanied by narratives, historical photos from the Sindecuse Museum and the Bentley Historical Library, and dental office equipment gifted by school alumni, along with letter and journal entries written by dentists and faculty members to colleagues and friends, including Dr. Gordon Sindecuse, for whom the museum is named.
Equipment dentists used in their offices also is on display, including upholstered chairs, ivory-handled dental instruments, overhead lamps, brass spittoons and wooden cabinets, many with small pullout drawers.
The free exhibit is open from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information contact the museum by phone at 734-763-0767 or by email at [email protected].
