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Story: Medical research

Bombs for Bertie! Fighting tooth decay, 1950s

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 Bombs for Bertie! Fighting tooth decay, 1950s

This poster from the 1950s advocated consuming fruit and vegetables to kill '"Bertie" the germ' – a representation of the bacteria that cause tooth decay or dental caries. Research on dental health was another field given priority by Medical Research Council funding.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: Eph-C-DENTAL-1950s-02

Courtesy of Ministry for Health

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Derek Dow, Medical research – Medical Research Council, 1937 to 1990, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/ephemera/45807/bombs-for-bertie-fighting-tooth-decay-1950s (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Derek Dow, published 23 June 2014.