Dr. Ralph and Mrs. Olga Crawford Canadian Dental Collection
Category
Dental
Classification
Dental
Accession Number
010020021
Description
Metal dental drill unit, enamelled in grey; rectangular unit sits atop grey metal square base; top is flat then slopes down and has a thin grey rubber border; grey plastic knob and small clear glass indicator at top; round gauge with black dial pointing to green and red borders on slope; silver met…
Metal dental drill unit, enamelled in grey; rectangular unit sits atop grey metal square base; top is flat then slopes down and has a thin grey rubber border; grey plastic knob and small clear glass indicator at top; round gauge with black dial pointing to green and red borders on slope; silver metal handpiece comes out of rectangular opening, attached via black fabric-covered wire; metal foot pedal with black rubber ridged covering attached via three grey wires, stuck together; black fabric-covered electrical wire attached at back; unit mounted on wheels
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Transfer from the Dental Canada Fund; previously housed in the Dentistry Canada Museum (Ottawa)
Printed on back of unit: "STERLING CONTROLS // FOR // BORDEN AIROTOR // AN "AMALGAMATED DENTAL" // PRODUCT // TYPE 4 SERIAL No. 2549 // VOLTS ~ // AMPS WATTS // MADE IN ENGLAND BY // AMALGAMATED DENTAL // ENGINEERING INDUSTRIES LTD. // WALTON-ON-THAMES, SURREY"; embossed on front of unit: "Sterling"; printed on knob on top of unit: "INCREASE //
Permanent Location
Storage Room W2
W2-536-4-1
Dimension Notes
Length 97.0 cm x Width 32.0 cm x Depth 26.9 cm
Condition Remarks
Enamel chipping at base; rubber wires are sticky but malleable; black electrical wire missing end, fabric is faded; rubber border around top broken at back
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Person
Book
JPG
Reference Comments
Dr. P. Ralph Crawford; “The development of the dental high-speed air turbine handpiece”, J.E. Dyson and B.W. Darvell, 1993, p. 58
CD #9
Research Facts
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; this item was donated by Allan Quackenbush from Thunder Bay, Ontario; it was used by his father, Dr. Howard Quackenbush, who graduated from the University of Toronto in the early 1920s; the Airotor drill unit, using a high-speed air turbine system, replaced earlier drills that used a water turbine system; it ushered in a new era of 'sit-down' dentistry due to the high speed of the drill; this technology is still used into the present day