It looks like a large, mangled drink coaster or a circular tablet from some alien race. It's heavy enough to be used as a doorstop, and it's filled with tooth-shaped crevices. What is this artifact and what, in the long-forgotten dental past, was it used for? Caulk's Universal Die Plate,... CONTINUE READING
While Benco Dental, the nation's largest privately owned dental distributor, has been delivering success smile after smile® for over 75 years, not every company these days has stood the test of time. Below, discover a bit of history regarding several dental companies that have been influencing... CONTINUE READING
While floss (!) and interdental brushes offer safer solutions for cleaning in between teeth, people have been picking their teeth for hundreds of years. Just ask Washington Post reporter Sarah Kaplan, who recently discussed evidence that Neanderthals used toothpicks for dentistry. Signs of... CONTINUE READING
[caption id="attachment_30620" align="aligncenter" width="339"] Bottle of mercury from the museum of Benco Dental, Pittston, Pa.[/caption] Mercury An element commonly seen in thermometers in its silver-white liquid form, mercury vaporizes at temperatures as low as 10 degrees Fahrenheit. The... CONTINUE READING
Two invaluable dental forensics equipment tools that we can't live without Today we have wonderful dental inventions such as the NOMAD eXaminer™ and NOMAD Pro 2™, hand-held x-ray machines (shown, courtesy ForensicDentistryblogspot.com) that can be used in places where traditional x-ray... CONTINUE READING
Table of Contents Meet Charles Goodyear Improving Vulcanization Vulcanized Rubber Enters Dentistry Josiah Bacon enters the Game with Patent Ownership Dentists band together to stop Josiah Bacon Josiah Bacon sues Dr. Samuel P. Chalfant A Final Showdown Chalfant Court Hearing Meet Charles... CONTINUE READING
History Lesson Long before there was ready-made, packaged food for the American military to eat, the soldiers and sailors could count on getting at least one thing in their daily food rations: hardtack. [caption id="attachment_28123" align="alignnone" width="802"] Two Civil War soldiers... CONTINUE READING
It looks like a tiny catapult ...but it’s not. Back before movies had sound, this little scale was used to weigh mercury and alloy for use in metal fillings. Prior to that, the dentist just took an educated guess. What a way to pack a filling! Quick Dental History This is the CRANDALL... CONTINUE READING
Did you ever look at stacks of old photos at an antique store and wonder why people hardly ever smiled? Could it be because they were ashamed of missing and decayed teeth? Possibly. The state of dentistry during much of the 19th century was quite awful, and the answer to pain in a tooth usually... CONTINUE READING