The era of whiter teeth: advertising in American dentistry 1910-1950

It has often been argued that the public image of dentists has been tainted by association with fear and pain into an image of evil 'psychodontists' and that there is an apparent lack of 'role models' in popular film, television, art and literature concerned with dentistry. This paper argues that we get a different picture when looking at different media. Advertisements introduce into a public domain, positive images of dentistry which crucially differ from the images found in other popular media. This paper traces the public image of dentistry in early 20th-century America, as seen through dentifrice advertisements, and suggests three important reasons for studying advertisements: First, advertisements provide a supplement to studies of popular images of dentistry carried out so far. Second, advertisements have played an important part in advancing oral hygiene as a public concern. And third, advertisements provide the historian of dentistry with a unique opportunity for analyzing the complex and interwoven relationship of popular and professional discourses, since ads have acted as catalysts for professional discussions and self-reflection among dentists.