An English Heritage blue plaque has recently been unveilled to commemorate Lilian Lindsay, the first female dentist to qualify in Britain. Find out about her struggle to become a dentist and her subsequent career in a special exhibition at the BDA Dental Museum.

Current temporary exhibitions

Lilian Lindsay and the Lindsay Society for the History of Dentistry
To mark the 50th anniversary in 2012 of the Lindsay Society for the History of Dentistry the museum is hosting an exhibition about the society and Lilian Lindsay, the woman after whom the society was named. Lindsay (1870 – 1960) was the first woman to qualify as a dentist in the UK (in 1895 from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh) and was also an esteemed dental historian.
Oral history project
The museum has recently launched the dedicted website for the ‘John Mclean Archive: A Living History of Dentistry’. The website includes audio excerpts and transcriptions from the oral history interviews and group witness seminars which have taken place so far. The project, which the museum is undertaking in conjunction with the Unit for the History of Dentistry of King’s College London Dental Institute, aims to document the history of dentistry since the start of the National Health Service. The project has been funded by a bequest from the estate of the late John McLean.

The museum is still looking for volunteer interviewers to carry out the oral history interviews – you don’t have to have a background in dentistry! The oral history interviews will represent what was happening in dentistry all over the country so are looking for interviewers from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. There are other volunteer opportunities too, for example listening to interviews, cataloguing the archive and carrying out research prior to interviews. If you are interested in the project and would like to be involved in any of these roles or would just like to find out more information, please contact the project co-ordinator.

The BDA Dental Museum is the place to find out about the history of dental care in the UK. With over 20,000 items the museum has the largest collection of material relating to the history of dentistry in the UK, from its time as a marketplace spectacle to the complex procedures and treatment of today.

The museum aims to bring out the relevance of the past, present and future of dentistry, to inspire and educate existing and new audiences and to influence the perception of the science, practice and social impact of dentistry.

The museum will achieve this through growing and caring for its collection and by making it accessible to all through displays, publications, education services, research opportunities and in the virtual environment.

“An excellent small museum.”