Dental Patent Models, History of Medicine Exhibit at the National Museum, about 1930, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Image no. MAH-31160.

"Open Wide!": Photographs of Dentists and Dental Researchers from the Science Service Collections

To celebrate National Dental Hygiene Month, the Smithsonian Institution Archives presents photographs of dentists and dental researchers.
October 10, 2019, by Marcel Chotkowski LaFollette

In commemoration of National Dental Hygiene Month, the Smithsonian Institution Archives presents a selection of photographs of dentists and dental researchers from the Science Service collection, Accession 90-105.

National Museum of American History curator Audrey Blyman Davis (November 9, 1933 - August 29, 2006) brought these Science Service records to the Smithsonian. After Dr. Davis retired from the Smithsonian in 1993, she helped to found the Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry in Baltimore, which is now a Smithsonian affiliate museum and is open (no pun intended) to the public throughout the year.

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Portrait of a person wearing a suit and with a full beard and mustache.

Willoughby Dayton Miller (1853–1907), Dean, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, was one of the first oral microbiologists in the United States. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 90-105, Image no. SIA2008-6121.

A person wearing a long white coat stands near a microscope.

John Albert Kolmer, M.D. (1886-1962), Professor of Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine and School of Dentistry. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 90-105, Image no. SIA2008-4925.

A person smiles at the camera while sitting at a desk.

After teaching in the department of microscopic anatomy at the University of Arkansas Medical School, 1921-1925, Margaret Morris Hoskins (1886-1955) became a professor in the Department of Dentistry, New York University. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 90-105, Image no. SIA2008-3552.

Two people in military uniforms shake hands.

(left to right) Brigadier General Neal Anthony Harper (1892-1970), chief of Dental Service at Walter Reed Army Hospital, and Major General Harry George Armstrong (1899-1983), U.S. Army Surgeon General. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 90-105, Image no. SIA2008-3515.

Portrait photograph of a person in a suit.

Henry Trendley Dean (1893-1962) was the first director of the U.S. National Institute of Dental Research and a pioneer in using fluoridation to prevent tooth decay. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 90-105, Image no. SIA2008-0920.

Portrait photograph of a man sitting at a desk and holding a pipe in his hands.

Charles Heston Patton (1897-1973), a Philadelphia orthodontist, became the 102nd president of the American Dental Association in 1960. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 90-105, Image no. SIA2009-1358.

Portrait photograph of a person in a military uniform and wearing glasses.

In 1958, when this photograph was taken, Brig. Gen. Clarence P. Canby (1904-1994) was Director of Dental Activities, Walter Reed Army Hospital. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 90-105, Image no. SIA2008-0640.

Portrait photograph of a woman.

In October 1948, Helen Elizabeth Walsh (1906-1997) was president-elect of the American Dietetic Association. Walsh served as chief of the bureau of nutrition for the California Department of Public Health, 1947-1971. She helped establish the school's public health nutrition program, was a founder and president of the Society for Nutrition Education, and advised on dental hygiene issues. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 90-105, Image no. SIA2010-0770.

A patient lies in bed and gives the camera a "thumbs up." Two hospital staff stand near the bed.

In 1968, South African dentist Philip B. Blaiberg (1909-1969) was one of the first heart transplant recipients. This exclusive Science Service photograph showed Blaiberg in his hospital room, after the operation by Christian Barnard. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 90-105, Image no. SIA2007-0256.

Portrait photograph of a man in a suit.

Seymour J. Kreshover, D.D.S, M.D. (1912-2006), Director, National Institute of Dental Research. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 90-105, Image no. SIA2008-4965.

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