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Sindecuse Museum is devoted to preserving and exhibiting the history of dentistry

The Sindecuse Museum exhibits and preserves a historical museum collection containing over 25,000 objects focused on the history of dentistry with particular interest on dental practice and technology in the United States and Michigan dating from the 18th century to today. It is dedicated to educating it's audiences about the history of dentistry through museum exhibition, related programs, research, and preservation of the collections.

The museum was established in 1991 with a grant from Dr. Gordon H. Sindecuse, a 1921 graduate of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. Its first professional part-time curator was hired that year. However, the museum's collections had been forming for several decades before the museum was established, as members of the School of Dentistry faculty, including Dr. Charles Kelsey, Professor Al Richards, and dental librarian Sue Segar, preserved and stored equipment, photos, and documents relating to the history of dentistry and the history of the dental school.

The Museum has a collection of more than 15,000 catalogued items, about 15 percent of which are displayed at one time.

For many years, dentistry in America was regarded as a low trade, a sort of “tooth carpentry” practiced by barbers, blacksmiths, and other multitasking professions.

In the early 1800s, practitioners began working to legitimize the profession and lift it to the ranks of a respected medical science. To make tooth care easier, more comfortable, and less hazardous, dentists developed specialized tools and furniture, refining them over the decades. These innovations eventually led to the modern dentist office. 

The Sindecuse Museum is located in the atrium connecting the Kellogg Building with the School of Dentistry on the UM campus. The best way to access it is through the main entrance of the Kellogg Building located on Fletcher Street just off of North University Ave. The main entrance has stairs, but a handicapped entrance is available on the northern side of the building.

Parking can be hard to find on the busy University of Michigan campus, but parking structures are available in the nearby downtown district of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

(06/10/2020)

More Information: https://www.mybestdentists.com/UniversityofMichigan

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