Dr. Ralph and Mrs. Olga Crawford Canadian Dental Collection
Category
Dental
Classification
Dental
Accession Number
010020015 a-b
Description
Metal Cavitron dental drill unit, enamelled in beige (a); rectangular unit with sloping top; control panel has two lights at top, labelled "TUNE" and "OPERATE", small gauge with white paper labelled "MILLIAMPERES" in black ink, on/off switch, two black knobs labelled "OUTPUT" and "TUNE"; silver met…
Metal Cavitron dental drill unit, enamelled in beige (a); rectangular unit with sloping top; control panel has two lights at top, labelled "TUNE" and "OPERATE", small gauge with white paper labelled "MILLIAMPERES" in black ink, on/off switch, two black knobs labelled "OUTPUT" and "TUNE"; silver metal handles on either side of unit; metal holder for handpiece on right side; generator in top half of unit; door to unit on front lower half; water supply and air injection systems found inside, including metal container for water and Cavident abrasive powder, pump motor, water and air gauges, pipes and valves to mix the Cavident and water, to inject air into the mixture and to pump it towards the handpiece; pipes and wires coming out bottom of unit at back; cylindrical silver metal foot control with lever attached via black rubber wire operates pump; four rubber wheels at bottom of unit; manufacturer's pamphlet (b) with two staple closure, white pages printed with black ink, blue cover with black ink; 20 pages.
Number Of Parts
2
Part Names
a - unit - Length 92.0 cm x Width 51.0 cm x Depth 40.5 cm
b - pamphlet - Length 27.9 cm x Width 21.6 cm x Depth 0.2 cm
Provenance
Transfer from the Dental Canada Fund; previously housed in the Dentistry Canada Museum (Ottawa).
(a) Printed on top of unit: "CAVITRON // ULTRASONIC // DENTAL EQUIPMENT"; printed on controls: "MARION ELECTRICAL INSTRUMENT CO., U.S.A. // MILLIAMPERES // CAVITRON"; printed on unit door: "CAVITRON // MODEL 0210 SERIAL # 2412 // VOLTS 115 AMPS 5.8 // FREQ. 60CPS PHASE 1 // THIS EQUIPMENT AND IT'S ACCESSORIES // ARE LICENSED BY CAVITRON CORPORATION // UNDER CANADIAN PATENT 496.396 // THE PURCHASER OF THIS EQUIPMENT IS // LICENSED TO USE THE SAME IN CARRYING // OUT THE PROCESS OF THE AFORESAID // PATENT. BUT ONLY IN THE PRACTICE // OF DENTISTRY IN THE DOMINION // OF CANADA"; printed on piece of paper taped to back of unit: "DENTAL SURGEON // PHONE 270 THORNBURY", written in blue ink: "
Permanent Location
(a) Storage Room Warehouse 2 Unit 536
W2
(b) Storage Room 2005
2005-2-5 Box 20
Condition Remarks
Some enamel chipping on unit; rubber coming loose on handpiece holder; metal corroded on screws on top of unit, electrical socket on side of unit, pipes on back of unit, handpiece holder; paper labels faded and slightly ripped in places on (b, c, d); ink stains on cover of (e); brown marks on cover and pages of (e)
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Person
Reference Comments
Dr. George H. Stewart
Research Facts
Originally purchased by Dr. George H. Stewart from Thornbury, Ontario, who used it in the late 1950s onwards; it was purchased in 1957 for $1,800 and was well-received by his patients, as there was much less vibration than with the slower drills of the time; it cut only solid tooth, so decay was removed with excavators or burs. Dr. Stewart states that he was one of the few dentists who used this unit in a variety of ways, including in periodontal scaling, root canal filing, cavity preparation and amalgam condensation; the Cavitron system worked, in effect, as a rapid erosion process on teeth; Cavident, a cutting medium made up of specially graded aluminum oxide particles, was mixed with water and air in the unit, then applied between the tool and the surface of the tooth to create a precise, clean cut; the unit also had a water supply to cool the handpiece and to provide rinsing water.
Three metal containers of Cavident catalogued separately as 010020687, .688, .689
Dr Ralph and Mrs Olga Crawford donated their extensive Canadian dental collection to the DCF to create the museum in 1997; further donations were received while Dr Crawford was Curator Emeritus at the Dental Canada Museum until its closure in 2008.