Current Exhibits
Check out our gallery guide map to know your way around when you come to visit the museum.
The Smile Experience
This dazzling multimedia presentation reveals the amazing power of a smile, from an historical look at how people have sought to enhance their smiles since ancient times to the impact that modern cosmetic dentistry now has on creating healthy smiles that give people confidence and change lives.
The Prevention Gallery
For most of history, dentistry was focused on repair-oriented techniques until the factors causing tooth decay were clearly understood. Until the mid-20th century, Americans often suffered diseases of the gums and teeth, frequently losing their teeth as a result. Brushing teeth “up and down, the way they grow” and hoping for the best was the extent of routine home care.
Celebrating Dental Education
Dental education, long focused on the mechanical aspects of treatment and repair, today has accelerated its efforts into new areas – prevention, research, treatment of the whole patient, and improved techniques. Dental schools throughout the United States and Canada are leading the way in providing innovative, comprehensive professional education.
Greene Vardiman Black
G. V. Black is known as the “Father of American Dentistry,” but the impact of his work was worldwide, and his influence continues to this day. Follow his journey from Illinois farm boy to becoming a brilliant scientist, scholar, teacher, and dean of the Northwestern University Dental School.
Your Spitting Image
An innovative and interactive three-part exhibition highlighting saliva, forensics, and bioengineering that explores how emerging science and research will affect dentistry and overall well-being in the not-so-distant future. Learn what makes your mouth water, how to analyze skull structures, and the history and future of tooth replacement.
Terrific Tooth Tales
Take a relaxing moment to explore our collection of children’s books related to oral health and dentistry, and discover the smile-making joy of reading.
Teeth in Popular Culture
Witness amazing teeth feats, marvel at unique cultural teeth traditions, and trace what humans have done to their teeth throughout history. Through traditions, folklore, and popular culture, learn how important smiles are for recognizing people and how much impact teeth have had throughout history.
MouthPower®
MouthPower® helps young people discover the power of a healthy smile and the importance of oral health in a healthy life. Children learn how to brush and floss the right way, why to say no to tobacco, how to make healthy food choices, and what kinds of careers are possible in the world of dentistry.
Tools of The Trade
View a variety of artificial teeth, dental instruments, and oral hygiene aids from Edo period (1603-1868) Japan that highlight the advanced technical dental work of the hahdykesan, or tooth carpenters, who practiced extraction and denture-making.
George Washington Gallery
Focused on one of the most famous sets of teeth in history, explore how tooth and gum loss shape your face, and how Dr. John Greenwood’s not-so-wooden dentures worn by the first president of the United States were integral in the advancement of dental prosthetics, helping to shift dentistry’s use of human and animal teeth to more sustainable, durable, and ethical alternatives.
Changing Faces
Since the 1970s, the number of minority graduates from dental school has increasd nearly 500% and the percentage of female in dental school has risn from 1% to almost 50%. Planned as an ever-adapting and growing digital experience, Changing Faces aims to continually preserve and celebrate the stories of trailblazers across the dental profession who have and are progressing the diversity of dentistry.
Origins of Teeth
Teeth first appeared in the hinge of the small mollusk’s shell 420 million years ago. From these early beginnings, teeth have continuously evolved and adapted. Explore the difference between human and animal mouths and how diet and survival shaped the mouths every species.
History of Dentistry
From the earliest ancient practices and applications through the Enlightenment and into the modern era, the practice of taking care of teeth has been around for millennia. Learn about the first prosthodontic practices from around the Mediterranean Sea, the toothworm as the root of all dental pain for centuries, and the people, innovations, and inventions that shaped dentistry into the profession it is today.
American College of Dentists
Celebrate the history and achievements of the organization commonly referred to as the “conscience of dentistry.” Founded to elevate the standards of dentistry, to encourage graduate study, and to grant Fellowship to those who have done meritorious work, the American College of Dentists empowers the dental field through its mission to advance excellence, ethics, professionalism, and leadership in the field.
ADA Theatre
Enjoy vintage public service announcements from the American Dental Association and educational animations from the National Institute of Health, among other fun activities in this interactive experience focused on learning about common oral health issues and topics for all ages.
Drawing Teeth
Throughout history, artists from different cultures have explored the subjects of oral health and dentistry in their works. From more commerical works like dental trade cards and toothpick holders to fine art works including paintings and sculptures, artists have captured the fascination behind the human smile and the pain, fear, relief, and happiness associated with the profession.
hours
Tuesday - Friday: 10am to 4pm
Address
31 S. Greene St. Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone
410-706-0600
The Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry is an auxiliary enterprise of the University of Maryland, School of Dentistry at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
