Skip to main content

Story: Dental care

Dental nurses, 1920s

Image
Dental nurses, 1920s

Dental-nurse probationers wearing white veils provide dental care to children, under the supervision of a dentist in the surgery at the school for dental nurses in Wellington in the 1920s. The first 35 dental-nurse probationers were selected early in 1921 from 120 applicants, based on their educational qualifications, personality, age, health and other personal qualities. They received £75 a year as a living allowance and £50 as an accommodation allowance. This was more than the bursaries received by students in the four-year course for dentists at the University of Otago.

Using this item

Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: ABKI W4078 667 1

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Andrew Schmidt and Susan Moffat, Dental care – Dental nurses to dental therapists, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/30593/dental-nurses-1920s (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Andrew Schmidt and Susan Moffat, published 29 March 2011.