Story: Dental care

Dental students, Otago University

Dental students, Otago University

A key component of dental training at Otago University was the practice of dentistry under supervision in the dental clinic. By the early 1920s the main clinic (seen here around 1924) had become overcrowded, and the university council lobbied the government for bigger and better buildings for both the medical school and the dental school. Eventually the government agreed to build a new dental school in Great King Street, next to the existing school. The foundation stone was laid in October 1924, but the new school was not opened until June 1926. Otago University had to counter a strong lobby from Auckland University College for the establishment of a dental school in Auckland.

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Reference: Harvey Brown, Pickerill: pioneer in plastic surgery, dental education, and dental research. Dunedin: Otago University Press, 2007, facing p. 224

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How to cite this page:

Andrew Schmidt and Susan Moffat, 'Dental care - Professional dentistry', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/30584/dental-students-otago-university (accessed 14 May 2024)

Story by Andrew Schmidt and Susan Moffat, published 5 May 2011, reviewed & revised 6 Nov 2018