dental museum

The Guardianspeclite
 
A visit to the Dental Museum in London is not for the faint-hearted. The collection, started in 1919 by the first qualified female dentist Lilian Lindsay who kept early exhibits under her bed, is now displayed in two galleries in the British Dental Association's headquarters on Wimpole Street.
 

false teethIn the upper gallery are fifteen cabinets, many of whose contents would delight S&M practitioners. There are hundreds of instruments of early dental torture such as pelicans (with little metal beaks), root screws and metal keys - a quick turn and out pops the stump - maybe. Gleaming old dentures made from walrus or hippo ivory, porcelain or corpses' teeth (these, unsurprisingly, were a common cause of bad breath), grin in a friendly fashion. Some smiles however, seem a little strained as the dentures' connecting springs look ready to propel them across the room. Wearers had to keep their jaws firmly clenched to prevent this common social gaffe.
 

chin retractorSpecial attractions are the Wilcox-Jewett Obtunder, the "Speclite", Dr. Edward H. Angle's Chin Retractor and Hickley's Archimedian Drill. In the lower gallery are wonderfully complicated X-ray machines, dentists' chairs made in walnut and velvet, Queen Victoria's spittoon, and, just in case you lack faith in scientific dental aids, a little scabby relic of St. Apollonia, patron saint of sufferers from toothache.

BRITISH DENTAL ASSOCIATION MUSEUM,
64 WIMPOLE STREET,
LONDON W1M 8AL.
VISITS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY.
 

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