LHB25  Edinburgh Dental Hospital and School

Collection Summary

Reference Code: GB239 LHB25
Title: Edinburgh Dental Hospital and School
Dates of Creation of Material: 1798-1993
Level of Description: Fonds
Extent and Medium of the Unit of Description: 16 shelf metres: bound volumes, papers, photographic material


Name of creator(s): Edinburgh Dental Hospital and School
Administrative History: In 1856 Dr John Smith gave a course on "physiology and diseases of the teeth" at Surgeon's Hall, Edinburgh. The first special treatment of dental disease was carried out at the Royal Public Dispensary in 1857.
It became clear that facilities would have to be provided for the treatment of necessitous patients and the training of dental students. To this end Dr Smith enlisted the co-operation of other practitioners. Thanks to their efforts the Edinburgh Dental Dispensary was opened at no 1 Drummond Street in January 1860. In 1862 it moved to premises in Cockburn Street. Two years later it moved again, to larger premises on the same street.
In 1878 the Dispensary and the Scottish Dental Education Committee co-operated to found the Dental Hospital and School, which was incorporated in 1892. In 1889 the Dental Hospital was removed to no 5 Lauriston Place, the property of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. In 1894 it returned to Chambers Street. In 1903 the adjoining building was purchased, and plans were drawn up for an extension to be built between these buildings and the pavement line. These plans had to be postponed because of the war, and it was not until 1927 that the new building was opened.
In 1948 the Dental Hospital came under the South Eastern Regional Hospital Board, forming part of the Royal Infirmary Group. In 1974 it came under the South Lothian District of Lothian Health Board, and it is presently part of the University Hospitals Division of NHS Lothian. The School separated from the Hospital in 1948 and became part of the University of Edinburgh. Although plans had been made for a new School building, due to a lack of funding for dental education in Scotland the School finally closed in 1994.
Immediate Source of Acquisition or Transfer: Professor John Southam, Dept of Oral Medicine, University of Edinburgh, July 1993


Scope and Content: Management 1862-1980; administration 1879-1984; students 1879-1991; staff 1798-1992; history and publications 1843-1993; photographs

Accruals: No further accessions are expected
System of Arrangement: Chronological within record class


Conditions Governing Access: Public access to these records is governed by UK data protection legislation, the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, and the current Scottish Government Records Management: NHS Code of Practice (Scotland).
Conditions Governing Reproduction: Reproduction is subject to closure periods and physical condition
Language/Scripts of Material: English

Related Units of Description:
Mackenzie, Henry Norman and William Douglas, dental students (GD1/37)
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (LHB1)
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Associated Hospitals Board of Management (LHB2)
South Lothian District, Lothian Health Board (LHB28)

Note: This is a joint collection with Edinburgh University Archives


Archivists' Notes: Compiled by Mike Barfoot and Jenny McDermott using existing handlists
Rules or Conventions: Description based on ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description International Council on Archives (2nd edition), 2000
Date(s) of Description: May 2000; last updated August 2009