Model tooth & dental nurses
Model Tooth (Human) 1900s, Maker unknown. Gift of the Wellington School Dental Service Training School, Department of Health, 1994. Te Papa
This model from the mid 20th century shows parts of the tooth. It is from the period when the school dental service was rapidly expanding under New Zealand's first Labour Government (1935–49). More and more nurses were being trained.
To practise drilling skills, some trainee dental nurses fashioned their own model teeth from pieces of soap. Others practised on real teeth that they collected from dentists' offices.