On Saturday 28th June a room at the Royal Society of Medicine was the setting for the inaugural meeting of the Dental History Discussion Group (DHDG). This gathering of dental history enthusiasts opened with a ‘Welcome’ from Lindsay Society Secretary, Brian Williams which was swiftly followed by the first topic for discussion. Retired oral surgeon, Andrew Sadler had chosen to talk about Matthew Finch, the pseudonym of Merton Fink (1921 – 2015) dentist, Dental Practice Magazine columnist and author of various books including ‘Dentist in the Chair’ (1955) – a book later turned into a film starring Bob Monkhouse.
As expected, reminiscences about him and the experiences of those who were both students and practitioners in the 1960s and 1970s came thick and fast with topics ranging from how dental school interviews were conducted to left handedness in dentists. Research will be one of the corner stones of the DHDG and the exchange of ideas regarding the latter may well lead to a future paper.
Another aspect of the DHDG is to promote the importance of dental history to as wide an audience as possible and the group spent some time discussing how this might be done. Contacting secretaries of dental school alumni groups was one suggestion.
Margaret Wilson and the Lilian Lindsay Memorial Medal
This Medal is the highest honour the Lindsay Society for the History of Dentistry can bestow and is named after Lilian Lindsay the first woman to qualify as a dentist in the UK (1895), founder of the BDA Museum and Library, President of the BDA in 1946, President of the RSM’s History of Medicine Society (1950-2), author of a “Short History of Dentistry” and translator of Pierre Fauchard’s “Le Chirurgien Dentiste” amongst many other achievements.
A person is only considered eligible for this prestigious award if over many years they have taught, encouraged and promoted research into and the importance of the history of dentistry. Past recipients include Professors Ronald Cohen and Stanley Gelbier.
After the discussion had drawn to a close the Medal and an accompanying certificate were presented to Dr Margaret Wilson by current Lindsay Society President, Helen Nield. After working as an academic and clinician in restorative dentistry for over 40 years Margaret became Editor of the Dental Historian in 2014 and a year later the Honorary Curator of the BDA Museum – her other activities during this time have included an interest in Manchester Dental School’s historical collection and the encouragement and support of young dentists, helping them to explore and publish on various topics related to dental history as well as writing a number of articles herself. Margaret in receiving the medal gave a short speech in which she spoke about how Lilian Lindsay’s determination to succeed in her chosen career had been an inspiration to her.
The DHDG framework
Over a sandwich lunch, a framework for future meetings was outlined. It was agreed to meet twice a year and for the time being to continue at the RSM. Members will be advised of the discussion topic prior to the meeting. And time will be set aside at each meeting to discuss current or proposed research projects.
The meeting finished with smiles and good wishes all round and looking forward to the second meeting in the New Year.
All those interested in joining in with the group should contact Brian Williams, the Lindsay Society Secretary – secretary@lindsaysociety.co.uk.
