Partial upper and lower denture, London, England, 1856-1880

Made:
1856-1880 in London
Partial upper and lower denture, with springs, lower of ivory

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Partial upper and lower denture, with springs, lower of ivory
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Partial upper and lower denture, with springs, lower of ivory, repaired, upper of swaged metal, by Gabriel, with platinum tube anteriors and ivory posteriors, 1856-1880

The lower plate of this denture is made of ivory. It is attached to the silver alloy upper plate by coil springs. The lower plate has been repaired at some point. It possibly pre-dates the upper one. The front teeth on the upper plate are made of porcelain. Porcelain eventually replaced human teeth and ivory in dentures. The first individual porcelain teeth were made by Italian dentist Guiseppangelo Fonzi (1768-1840) in 1808.

Details

Category:
Dentistry
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A622099
Materials:
lower, ivory, upper, metal (alloy), upper, ivory and upper, porcelain
Measurements:
overall - current: 24 mm x 101 mm x 53 mm, .04 kg
overall - previous: 22 mm x 55 mm x 100 mm, .05 kg
type:
artificial teeth