Dr. Ralph and Mrs. Olga Crawford Canadian Dental Collection
Category
Diagnostic & Treatment Artifacts
Classification
Dental
Accession Number
010020164
Description
Empty cylindrical clear glass bottle for dental mercury; bottle tapers inward at neck, round opening at top; neck is smooth, translucent glass; white rectangular paper label at front in middle printed with red ink and bordered with silver ink states manufacturing information; round brown wooden cor…
Empty cylindrical clear glass bottle for dental mercury; bottle tapers inward at neck, round opening at top; neck is smooth, translucent glass; white rectangular paper label at front in middle printed with red ink and bordered with silver ink states manufacturing information; round brown wooden cork in bottle neck; silver mercury remnants inside.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Transfer from the Dental Canada Fund; previously housed in the Dentistry Canada Museum (Ottawa)
Printed on front: "CAULK // TWENTIETH CENTURY // MERCURY // CHEMICALLY PURIFIED // FREED FROM ALL OTHER METALS"; embossed on bottom: "138 // 2"
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-A3-6
Temporary Location
MHC 2017 Public Program: Seniors Program - Say Cheese: History of Dentures and Dental Health, July 2017
Dimension Notes
Length 6.5 cm x Diam. 4.4 cm
Condition Remarks
Paper label very darkened, faded; mercury remnants sealed inside
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Other
Book
JPG
Reference Comments
010020163; "Material in Dentistry: Principles and Applications, 2nd ed.", Jack L. Ferracane, 2001, pp. 4, 122
CD #10
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; dental silver is used in the creation of amalgam fillings, which consist of 40-50% liquid mercury mixed with one or more metals; amalgams were first used in France in the early 19th century, but the modern 'recipe' was perfected by Dr. G. V. Black in the 1890s in Chicago; the metal usually contains a high percentage of silver (around 70%) and a mix of tin, copper and zinc; high copper amalgams are also available, where the silver content is much lower (as low as 40%) and the copper much more prevalent