Dr. Ralph and Mrs. Olga Crawford Canadian Dental Collection
Category
Dental
Animal Remains
Dentures
Teeth
Classification
Dental
Animal Remains
Dentures
Teeth
Accession Number
010020467
Description
Upper denture carved entirely of ivory and mounted on a gold painted plaster mount; complete set of ivory teeth minus the third molars; proper left first molar has a metal post inside; the proper right molar has an empty hole
Upper denture carved entirely of ivory and mounted on a gold painted plaster mount; complete set of ivory teeth minus the third molars; proper left first molar has a metal post inside; the proper right molar has an empty hole
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Transfer from the Dental Canada Fund; previously housed in the Dentistry Canada Museum (Ottawa)
Dates
1770
1790
circa 1770-1790
Date Remarks
Date based on donor's remarks
Material
ivory: beige
plaster: white
paint: yellow
Inscriptions
Hand written in pencil on underside of base: "1904"; hand written in pencil on top of mount: "160"
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-B2-11 Row A
Dimension Notes
Length 5.2 cm x Width 5.2 cm x Depth 3.2 cm
Condition Remarks
Teeth are very yellowed; there is some green colouring on the underside of teeth; teeth have browned or are dirty in the space between each tooth; crack appears on the underside of the palate from the base of one of the lateral incisors; one canine is chipped; plaster mount is chipped; both first molars have cracks in them
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Person
Internet
JPG
Reference Comments
"British Dental Association Museum" website; donor remarks; CD #4
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; believed to have been a dentists demonstration model; ivory was a common material used in the manufacture of dentures in the 18th century; a down side to ivory is that it degrades quickly in the mouth resulting in bad breath and a bad taste in the mouth; human teeth were preferred as they did not degrade like ivory or were too white like porcelain