Dr. Ralph and Mrs. Olga Crawford Canadian Dental Collection
Category
Dental
Human Remains
Classification
Dental
Human Remains
Teeth
Accession Number
010020424 a-g
Description
String of human teeth on a wire; canine (a); lateral incisor with section cut off (b); central incisor with section cut off (c); central incisor (d); lateral incisor with section cut off (e); canine (f); wire (g)
String of human teeth on a wire; canine (a); lateral incisor with section cut off (b); central incisor with section cut off (c); central incisor (d); lateral incisor with section cut off (e); canine (f); wire (g)
Number Of Parts
7
Part Names
a - canine - Size: Length 2.8 cm x Width 0.8 cm x Depth 0.7 cm
b - lateral incisor with section cut off - Size: Length 2.1 cm x Width 0.6 cm x Depth 0.5 cm
c - central incisor with section cut off - Size: Length 2.0 cm x Width 0.8 cm x Depth 0.7 cm
d - central incisor - Size: Length 2.0 cm x Width 0.8 cm x Depth 0.7 cm
e - lateral incisor with section cut off - Size: Length 1.8 cm x Width 0.6 cm x Depth 0.5 cm
f - canine - Size: Length 2.6 cm x Width 0.9 cm x Depth 0.7 cm
g - wire - Size: Length 3.3 cm x Width 0.1 cm x Depth 0.1 cm
Provenance
Transfer from the Dental Canada Fund (DCF); previously housed in the Dentistry Canada Museum (Ottawa)
The wire is discoloring the root end of the teeth turning the enamel a grayish black where it contacts the metal; the teeth that have sections cut off (b, c, e) have fragile areas where remaining sections could break off if mishandled; the teeth have a brownish disclouration from age and wear
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Internet
JPG
Reference Comments
Tragula, Trin. “Waterloo Teeth: A History of Dentures” BBC – H2G2. Accessed July 7, 2011. http://www.bbc.uk/dna/h2g2/A5103271; “Waterloo teeth” British Dental Association. Accessed June 3, 2011 http://www.bda.org/museum/collections/teeth-and-dentures/waterloo-teeth.aspx; CD #2
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; used to make dentures; also referred to as "Waterloo teeth"; the dates listed for the teeth are five years before the Napoleonic War and five years after the American civil war; before this time dentures with human teeth were too expensive as good quality human teeth were hard to come by; the wars created an excess of human teeth available to the market and thus made the option of using human teeth in dentures more common; after this time the use of porcelain teeth in dentures was more common
Exhibit History
On display: "Teeth in Time", Main level, Rm 1009, Museum of Health Care, April 12, 2011-November 2014