Dr. Ralph and Mrs. Olga Crawford Canadian Dental Collection
Category
Diagnostic & Treatment Artifacts
Classification
Dental
Accession Number
010020183 a-b
Description
Vial container of dental gold; clear glass vial (a) with blue paper label affixed at front, printed with black ink; label states manufacturing information, product name, weight of gold; black metal screw cap (b) with ridged sides at top and silver metal inside; assorted gold pieces and white cotton…
Vial container of dental gold; clear glass vial (a) with blue paper label affixed at front, printed with black ink; label states manufacturing information, product name, weight of gold; black metal screw cap (b) with ridged sides at top and silver metal inside; assorted gold pieces and white cotton inside
Number Of Parts
2
Part Names
a - vial - Size: Length 7.9 cm x Diam. 2.0 cm
b - cap - Size: Depth 0.9 cm x Diam. 2.2 cm
Provenance
Transfer from the Dental Canada Fund; previously housed in the Dentistry Canada Museum (Ottawa)
Maker
The Williams Gold Refining Company of Canada, Ltd.
(a) Printed on front: "1/10 OUNC [Illeg.] // WILLIAMS // GOLD CYLINDERS // Williams [Illeg.] ng Comp [Illeg.] // [Illeg.] Ltd. // Smelters, R [Illeg.] Manufact [Illeg.] // FORT [Illeg.] ONTARIO // [Illeg.] N.Y."
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-A3-7
Temporary Location
MHC 2017 Public Program: Seniors Program - Say Cheese: History of Dentures and Dental Health, July 2017
Condition Remarks
Label is very worn, illegible in parts
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Book
JPG
Reference Comments
"Material in Dentistry: Principles and Applications, 2nd ed.", Jack L. Ferracane, 2001, p. 3, 140-141
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; gold is still used by some dentists, despite it being more costly and more difficult to work with than amalgams or composites; gold was first used to fill cavities around 1500 C.E. in early modern Italy; while gold is a very soft metal, it becomes harder when compressed, and pieces weld together in the mouth; it requires twice as much force as amalgam does to be compressed, however, and there is a danger of hurting the tooth being filled