Dental Tribune U.S. Edition

Dental Tribune U.S. Edition | August 2015A4 Ad Dental school’s virtual museum highlights dentistry’s history with five online exhibits Five new exhibits showcasing artifacts of dental history are now available for viewing on the recently launched website www.dentalmuseum.pacific.edu, which was created by the University of the Pa- cific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentist- ry. The exhibits are also accessible to the school community on digital kiosks lo- cated on the first and fourth floors of the school. The digital exhibits are part of the Viewers can now browse through five exhibits: “Please Have a Seat: Evolution of the Dental Chair,” “A Dynamic Decade: Speeding Up the Handpiece,” “Painless Promises: Business Cards of the Victorian Dentist,” “Still Lives in Dentistry: The Ar- tifacts” and “There & Back Again: Our San Francisco Story.” Dechant said that the idea for the vir- tual museum took shape in conversations with former dean, Patrick J. Ferrillo, Jr., in 2012, when discussing how the museum would transition to its space in the new school building, which opened last sum- mer in downtown San Francisco. A virtual presentation was the solution that would allow broader access to the museum and digitally showcase artifacts that have been in storage due to space limitations. Some of the artifacts have now been gifted to other dental museums or sold at auction. A team of colleagues in the school’s de- sign and photo, marketing and commu- nications, and information technology departments worked with Dechant to put finishing touches on the website and ki- osk exhibits. “Please Have a Seat: Evolution of the Dental Chair” charts the dental chair over a 300-year span. Prior to the 17th century, tooth extractions were performed with patients sitting on the floor, their heads wedged between the dentist’s knees. Den- tists then took matters into their own hands, constructing their own dental chairs until the mid-1800s, when com- mercial manufacturers took over. The chair has come a long way since then, and today’s design maximizes patient com- fort while providing the dentist with ad- justability that provides optimal access to the oral cavity. “A Dynamic Decade: Speeding Up the Handpiece” includes this bit of history: Bur speeds increased dramatically in the 1950s when the idea of using turbines in airplane design inspired a new patent for the air turbine handpiece, accelerating the average handpiece from 6,500 rpm to 250,000 rpm. Pacific’s very own Dr. Ar- thur A. Dugoni (then serving as assistant clinical professor of operative dentistry at the College of Physicians & Surgeons, which later became Pacific Dugoni) was one of the first to share his confidence in the new high-speed handpiece. ongoing Virtual Museum Project, which began in 2012 as a creative way to present the school’s A. W. Ward Museum collec- tion. For the past two years, Dr. Dorothy Dechant, curator of the A.W. Ward Muse- um, has been working closely with school photographer Jon Draper to photograph artifacts of all shapes and sizes — from tiny dental burs to heavy antique dental chairs. Images, text document evolution of dental chairs, handpieces, business cards and more ” MUSEUM, page A6 Virtual museum exhibit image, De Trey’s Synthetic Porcelain Powder kit (circa 1930), used for artificial teeth, complete dentures, facings, inlays, veneer crowns and other restoration work. Photos/Provided by University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry news

Dental Tribune U.S. Edition

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