Peter Orphoot MD (1827–1913) was a 19th-century Scottish dental pioneer and joint founder of the Edinburgh Dental Dispensary in 1860 which later became the Edinburgh Dental Hospital.

Life

He was born in Edinburgh in 1827, the son of John Orphoot, a printer living at 23 Blackfriars Wynd (now known as Blackfriars Street) off the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is the nickname of a series of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. The term originated in the early 20th century and has since entered popular usage. The Royal ...

. The unusual surname is found in Lowland Scotland and appears linked to the equally unusual surname of Horfoot. His mother was Joan Clark Henderson. In 1840 the family had moved to a then-new house at 25 Gilmore Place in the Tollcross district. He graduated at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, where he obtained an M.D. with the thesis '''Few remarks on encephalitis. Peter first appears as an operational dentist living separate from his family, in Edinburgh in 1855. He lived with his family at 113 George Street in Edinburgh's First New Town and also practiced from there. In 1860, under the leadership of Dr John Smith and with the help of

Robert Nasmyth Robert Nasmyth FRCSEd, FRSE (7 November 1791 – 12 May 1870) was a Scottish dental surgeon from Edinburgh who was Surgeon-Dentist to Queen Victoria in Scotland. He was President of the Odonto-Chirurgical Society of Scotland and was one of t ...

and Francis Brodie Imlach, they founded the Edinburgh Dental Dispensary, specifically following concerns regarding the average dental condition of the Edinburgh population. Free treatment was seen as a good way to improve overall standards. By 1865 this had specific new premises at 1 Drummond Street in the South Side. The dispensary offered free dental treatment mainly for extractions but accepted donations. Together they pushed for legislation which led to the

Dentists Act 1878 A dentist, also known as a dental doctor, dental physician, dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in providi ...

( 41 & 42 Vict. c. 33), which ended the ability for unregistered persons to practice dentistry. In 1880 the name changed to the Edinburgh Dental Hospital and in 1894 it moved from Drummond Street to the west end of Chambers Street, Orphoot being involved in all these changes. From 1864 the dispensary and later the hospital played a major role in the training of Scottish dentists, one of their most famous students being Lilian Lindsay. He remained at 113 George Street for all his working life then retired to

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

. He died on 17 December 1913 and is buried in

North Berwick North Berwick (; ) is a seaside resort, seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holi ...

Cemetery against its north wall.

Family

He was married to Mary Juliana Henderson (d.1926). They had a daughter, Mary Joan Clark ("Mary-Jo") Orphoot (b.1867).

References

1827 births 1913 deaths Health professionals from Edinburgh Scottish dentists 19th-century dentists {{Scotland-med-bio-stub