Two new displays of historical dental offices have been arranged and displayed by Dr. Samuel Wexler of Richmond, Illinois.

LAKE GENEVA, WISCONSIN

The Historical Society of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin has just opened a new city museum which includes a 1920 dental office. The equipment belonged to a local dentist who graduated from Marquette Dental School in 1918. The equipment consists of a 1915 Ritter Model A dental unit with an intact spinning selfcleaning cuspidor. The force of the water caused the inner bowl to spin and by centrifugal force throw the contents out and under the outer bowl. There is also a 1920 Ritters electric chair, one of the first Ritter made. Both pieces are in the original mahogany wood grained finish. Also displayed are a beautiful 1918 American cabinet; a wall mounted Bosworth cluster light; a 1900 SS White foot engine plus a 1920 Fischer X-ray unit. The equipment makes a beautiful display and adds a taste of dental history to the museum.

MESA, ARIZONA

Mesa is a fast growing community just east of Phoenix. The A.T. Still School of Osteopathic Medicine of Kirksville, MO has decided to open the state's first dental school. Since Dr. Wexler's son is a dentist in Tucson, Arizona, Dr. Wexler offered a turn of the century dental office to the school to promote dental history. The offer was accepted and the finished result was appreciated by students and faculty)7~ This is Dr. Wexler's eighth display. The display consists of a 1887 Case Harvard high-low chair, all mechanical in going up and down; a SS White Bracket table and arm (1870); a 1912 Rhein light; a 1911 SS White electric engine, a 1902 #53 American dental cabinet; a 1920 Ritter X-ray; 1900 SS White foot engine, and several other items that will give the viewer an idea of what a turn of the century dental office looked like.

Article orginally published in the Journal of the History of Dentistry
Vol. 53, No. 1 /Mar 2005 p.14 copyright ©2005, all rights reserved