Etruscan bridge, 700-500 BCE (replica)
Maker
Clive Geoffrey Dennis (b.1925, d.2021)
Date
1957
Description
A dental bridge consisting of three natural human teeth held in place by a riveted gold band. The bridge was a copy of an original Etruscan bridge (700 - 500 BC) and was made in the Prosthetics Department of the Australian College of Dentistry by Dr Clive Geoffrey Dennis DDSc (1925-2021) while he was a Demonstrator in the Dental School. Along with Dental Museum Collection items 831, 830 & 829, it was used in the' Discovery Week' of the University in 1957. Full details in "Discovery No. 2" 1957, University of Melbourne.
Dr Clive Geoffrey Dennis DDSc (1925-2021) studied dentistry at the University of Melbourne, graduating in 1947, gained a MDSc degree (1953) and a Doctorate (1959). While studying for his higher degrees he was a Demonstrator in the Dental School and, when Professor Atkinson arrived in 1958, he was a Lecturer. He later became Senior Lecturer, Head of Department and took responsibility for the Cleft Palate Clinic.
As early as the 7th century BC, Etruscans in northern Italy made partial dentures out of human or other animal teeth fastened together with gold bands. The Romans had likely borrowed this technique by the 5th century BC.
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Object detail
human tissue
educational aids
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