The Sindecuse Museum of Dentistry is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

of the history of dentistry, operated by the

University of Michigan School of Dentistry The University of Michigan School of Dentistry is the dental school of the University of Michigan, a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Established in 1875, the School of Dentistry engages in oral and craniofacial health c ...

in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Located on the university's Central Campus, the museum is one of only a handful of dentistry museums in the world.

History

The Sindecuse Museum was established in 1991 with a grant from Dr. Gordon H. Sindecuse, a 1921 graduate of the U-M School of Dentistry. Its first professional part-time curator was hired that year.About Us
Sindecuse Museum of Dentistry. However, the museum's collections had been forming for several decades before the museum was established, as members of the School of Dentistry faculty, including Dr. Charles Kelsey, Professor Al Richards, and dental librarian Sue Segar, preserved and stored equipment, photos, and documents relating to the history of dentistry and the history of the

dental school A dental school (school of dental medicine, school of dentistry, dental college) is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches dental medicine to prospective dentists and potentially other dental auxiliaries ...

. The museum was originally housed on the first- and ground-floor lobby of the Kellogg Institute Building. Plans for expansion of the museum as part of a larger renovation of the Kellogg Building began in 1995. Following two years of construction, the Sindecuse Museum reopened on September 8, 2000, with a new

atrium Atrium may refer to: Anatomy * Atrium (heart), an anatomical structure of the heart * Atrium, the genital structure next to the genital aperture in the reproductive system of gastropods * Atrium of the ventricular system of the brain * Pulmona ...

taking the place of what was formerly a

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

that connected the Kellogg and Dental Buildings. The expansion also saw the addition of five new exhibit cases in an adjacent hallway; a climate-controlled collection storage room; and modern storage cabinets and mobile storage racks. University of Michigan School of Dentistry

University of Michigan School of Dentistry

The museum's current staff consists of two full-time employees, a

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

and a collections coordinator, and a number of part-time University of Michigan students. Jane Becker was the museum's first curator, followed by Tammy Szatkowski-Reeves.Michelle Begnoche, Spotlight:Curator gets to the Root of Oral History. (November 24, 2003.) ''Michigan Daily''. Its third and present curator is Shannon O'Dell.Joelle Hecker
Off the Beaten Path: the Sindecuse Museum of Dentistry
(October 26, 2009), ''Michigan Daily''.

Collection

The Sindecuse Museum of Dentistry has a collection of more than 15,000 catalogued items, about 15 percent of which are displayed at one time. The museum's collection emphasizes dental technology and the history of the dental profession, particularly in the United States and

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

.Exhibits
Sindecuse Museum of Dentistry. Artifacts date from the 18th century to the present day, and include dental equipment such as

articulator An articulator is a mechanical hinged device used in dentistry to which plaster casts of the maxillary (upper) and mandibular (lower) jaw are fixed, reproducing some or all the movements of the mandible in relation to the maxilla The maxil ...

denture Dentures (also known as false teeth) are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and are supported by the surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable ( removable partial denture or ...

-forming equipment, and dental

X-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

items, as well as historical

oral hygiene Oral hygiene is the practice of keeping one's mouth clean and free of disease and other problems (e.g. bad breath) by regular brushing of the teeth (dental hygiene) and cleaning between the teeth. It is important that oral hygiene be carried out ...

items, which include a

toothpaste Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice used with a toothbrush to clean and maintain the aesthetics and health of teeth. Toothpaste is used to promote oral hygiene: it is an abrasive that aids in removing dental plaque and food from the teeth, ...

and

tooth powder Dentifrices, including toothpowder and toothpaste, are agents used along with a toothbrush to clean and polish natural teeth. They are supplied in paste, powder, gel, or liquid form. Many dentifrices have been produced over the years, some focus ...

collection on loan. Among the exhibits are materials on

Saint Apollonia Saint Apollonia ( el, Αγία Απολλωνία, cop, Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲁⲡⲟⲗⲗⲟⲛⲓⲁ) was one of a group of virgin martyrs who suffered in Alexandria during a local uprising against the Christians prior to the persecution of Decius ...

, the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of dentistry; a collection of dentistry-themed

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

s and toys; and materials on the noted dentist Willoughby D. Miller, a graduate of the university. The museum's collection includes "toothbrushes with heads greater than two inches in length, Dental floss, floss made from silk and examination chairs grand enough for a king."

Notes

External links

* {{authority control University of Michigan Museums in Ann Arbor, Michigan Medical museums in the United States Museums established in 1991 University museums in Michigan Science museums in Michigan Dental museums 1991 establishments in Michigan University of Michigan campus Medical and health organizations based in Michigan