Congratulations, Peter, on your excellent description of having teeth out all those years ago. Even that was better than the ‘stick and stone’ of the Aboriginies or the ‘itinerant tooth puller’.
In answer to your questions, in 1937 chloroform, known as ether, was poured onto the cotton wool using the metal mask. This quickly rendered you unconscious. The next introduction was nitrous oxide, better known as ‘laughing gas’. Hopefully extracted teeth were placed in an enamel kidney dish and not left hanging to the curtains. As I have already stated, people were allowed to practice as a Registered Dentist until 1921 after that date unless you had Registed previously you must by Law become Licensed or “qualified” Dental Surgeon.
J.Norman Kidd FIMPT (Hon)
Senior Instructor in Dental Technology, Leeds Dental School and Hospital (retd).
There has been a lot of interesting posts recently on dentists, especially one from J.Norman Kidd, about Mr. Beaton. This reminded me of a time long ago in 1937 when I was 8 years old of going to the dental practice of Messrs. Bond and Beaton in Bishopton Lane, the surgery was one room with two dentists chairs and equipment, one chair was already occupied by some unconcious person having their teeth removed with great rapidity by Mr Bond, I could hear the clink, clink of extracted teeth being dropped into a metal container. I was cajoled into the other chair, my mouth opened and a large black rubber wedge forced my jaws apart, a mask of cotton wool was placed over my face and I was told to count, then oblivion. I woke up minus 12 teeth and being violently sick, how I was put to sleep I don’t know, perhaps Mr Kidd could explain, and now 73 years on I learn Mr Beaton was not a qualified dentist! Some of my teeth have survived, I am still going for regular check ups.
Just along from Guthries was the Electrical Wholesalers – Fairless Engineering. Seem to remember that one of the lads working there ended up in a Teesside band and also worked for Hamiltons Music for a while – think his name was Rolley. Happy memories of being sent to Fairless by my boss on my first day at work as a 16 year old to go and pick up three rolls of electrical power cable – had to carry them back to Robinsons and almost broke my back doing it – great joke!
Congratulations, Peter, on your excellent description of having teeth out all those years ago. Even that was better than the ‘stick and stone’ of the Aboriginies or the ‘itinerant tooth puller’.
In answer to your questions, in 1937 chloroform, known as ether, was poured onto the cotton wool using the metal mask. This quickly rendered you unconscious. The next introduction was nitrous oxide, better known as ‘laughing gas’. Hopefully extracted teeth were placed in an enamel kidney dish and not left hanging to the curtains. As I have already stated, people were allowed to practice as a Registered Dentist until 1921 after that date unless you had Registed previously you must by Law become Licensed or “qualified” Dental Surgeon.
J.Norman Kidd FIMPT (Hon)
Senior Instructor in Dental Technology, Leeds Dental School and Hospital (retd).
There has been a lot of interesting posts recently on dentists, especially one from J.Norman Kidd, about Mr. Beaton. This reminded me of a time long ago in 1937 when I was 8 years old of going to the dental practice of Messrs. Bond and Beaton in Bishopton Lane, the surgery was one room with two dentists chairs and equipment, one chair was already occupied by some unconcious person having their teeth removed with great rapidity by Mr Bond, I could hear the clink, clink of extracted teeth being dropped into a metal container. I was cajoled into the other chair, my mouth opened and a large black rubber wedge forced my jaws apart, a mask of cotton wool was placed over my face and I was told to count, then oblivion. I woke up minus 12 teeth and being violently sick, how I was put to sleep I don’t know, perhaps Mr Kidd could explain, and now 73 years on I learn Mr Beaton was not a qualified dentist! Some of my teeth have survived, I am still going for regular check ups.
Just along from Guthries was the Electrical Wholesalers – Fairless Engineering. Seem to remember that one of the lads working there ended up in a Teesside band and also worked for Hamiltons Music for a while – think his name was Rolley. Happy memories of being sent to Fairless by my boss on my first day at work as a 16 year old to go and pick up three rolls of electrical power cable – had to carry them back to Robinsons and almost broke my back doing it – great joke!
Guthries are still in business, the office is now situated in Brunswick Street.