Last year was a busy and exciting one for the BDA Museum - here are some highlights from our work during 2018:
1. Teeth!

We were proud to support the
Wellcome Collection's national 'Teeth' exhibition from May until September - the first of its kind in the UK, focusing on the topic of teeth and oral health. We loaned them over 60 objects and provided our expertise and advice.
Over 84,000 visitors came along to see the exhibition, a particularly high number according to the Wellcome Collection, so we are pleased so many got to see some of our fascinating objects.
It is currently being restored, and we plan to have it displayed in the Museum soon, watch this space!
3. Getting ‘Up close and medical’
Over 150 visitors got to grips with exploring how to extract a tooth in Tudor times and Victorian times at the BDA Museum stand.
4. 70 years of NHS dentistry
We highlighted the history and development of NHS dentistry since its inception and the work of NHS dentists across the UK today, showcasing some of the wonderful objects from our collection.
Interesting to be placed alongside the Disgusting Food Museum in Sweden and the Clowns Museum in Germany. Compared to them, we are far from creepy really!
What’s coming up for 2019?
We are working on plans for 2019, we hope to hold a series of events around the theme of oral health inequalities, working with partners, we will continue our work cataloguing our objects, fundraising, and we will support the Lindsay Society lecture in May, as well as a host of other exciting activities.
We are always on the look-out for new volunteers, if you have some time to spare,
please get in touch, we have plenty of things that need doing!
Many thanks go to our current volunteers as well, without you we could not achieve what we have during 2018.
Rachel Bairsto, BDA Museum Head
BDA Museum
The
BDA Museum has one of the largest collections of dental heritage in the UK. Spanning the 17th century to the present day, highlights of the collection include dental chairs, drills, oral hygiene products, and the infamous ‘Waterloo’ teeth.
Pop in and see for yourself.