The Jacksonville Area Museum has opened a new dentistry display focusing on Jacksonville resident Dr. Greene Vardiman Black, known as the Father of Modern Dentistry.
“Jacksonville’s Dr. Greene Vardiman Black was a curious inventor, scientist, and teacher who changed the way dentists care for patients,” said Jacksonville Area Museum Manager Tori Ohl. “Through his discoveries, inventions and dedication to education, Dr. Black helped transform dentistry into the modern profession we know today.”
The display, titled “This Won’t Hurt a Bit,” opened to commemorate Black’s 190th birthday and includes several items from the museum’s collections that represent the progression of the dental profession. There is a gold rolling machine, used to flatten gold into sheets so it could be used for dental fillings; a treadle-powered dental drill; a period dental chair; and a cabinet donated by Black’s descendants that was used to store dental tools. Interpretive panels provide images of Dr. Black and information about his life and career.
A bust of G.V. Black created by Richard Bock, the famed sculptor who collaborated with Frank Lloyd Wright on Springfield’s Dana-Thomas House and other buildings, anchors one end of the display. Visitors are encouraged to take a selfie with the bust of Dr. Black and rub his nose for good dental health.
The smallest artifact, and perhaps the most interesting, is an actual tooth that Dr. Black filled using a process that he perfected and that dentists worldwide emulated for many years.
The new dentistry display may be viewed in the museum’s West Gallery during normal hours of operation on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. The display will take up residence in the museum’s new central gallery, now under construction, in 2027.