The Vintage Dentist

Today's dental rooms are clean, neat and sterile.  Usually they are white. And boring. I know, I have been at the dentist three days in a row now!  I much prefer this dental room from about 1935.  The yellow walls were meant to have a calming effect.

1935 dental room, source

The light, chair, sink, drill, stool and x ray machine are all very similar to what is in use now.  The free standing side board and curtain are not, and these days the flooring often curves up the wall slightly to make cleaning easier.

Compare this to a dentist's office from 1895.

dental room, 1885 source

What a difference forty years makes! No plumbing, no hydraulic dental chair, no stool for the dentist and very little tools.  The major difference, of course, is no electricity. The would have had nice big tooth pulling pliers though.

Here's an usual dentist room - on board the HMAS Australia in 1913.

HMAS Australia, 1913, source

And here's a rarity - a lady doctor in 1909.  I love the painting on the wall-papered wall in this photo!

lady dentist, 1909 source

Today I had a mould of my teeth made, to be sent off to the lab so a crown can be made. The dental impression tray was made of grey plastic.  Not quite as beautiful as this antique one from France, made of bronze.

French bronze dental impression tray, c. 1840

Well the rooms and instruments may not be as beautiful as they once were, but thankfully pain killers and techniques have improved somewhat. 

My next visit to the dentist is in about two weeks time, to have the crown fitted, so I might actually get onto another topic tomorrow!

Deb xxx

Going to the Dentist

My oven cleaning plans were interrupted today, as I managed to get an appointment at the dentist.

At the dentist 1936

I had put it off, then I was ill, but now I am determined to get all my health issues sorted. I think I am still put off by visits to the dentist as a young girl in the early 70s - my dentist was about 100 and still had his original office set up from about the 1920s. There were big old leather chairs and a really big noisy drill -still have night mares about getting fillings!

Dr Withers, Utah, 1930s

 My dentist now is a lovely Indian lady, who is gentle and unassuming and quite painless.  She reassured me that the one filling I thought I needed I didn't, as my teeth are just getting sensitive because of a slightly receding gum line.  The major issue, the collapse of a tooth over an old root canal , is fixable, and will cost less than $2,000, so I am pretty happy.  I have to go back for two more visits over the next few days, and then in a fortnight for the crown to be fitted when it's back from the lab.

Lavoris Ad, USA (1920)

Now I just have to do as my dentist tells me - FLOSS and only use toothpaste for sensitive teeth.  She's so nice I promised I would.  I really don't want to end up with some of these:

George Washington's false teeth of hippo ivory

Have been to the dentist lately?


Deb xxx