Royal Dental Hospital

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the former hospital in London. For the hospital in Melbourne, see The Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne.
Royal Dental Hospital
Hampshire Bar and Restaurant, Leicester Square, WC2 (4518887387).jpg
The former Royal Dental Hospital at 31–36 Leicester Square, now the Hampshire Hotel
Geography
Location31–36 Leicester Square, London, England
Coordinates51°30′35″N 0°07′47″W / 51.50972°N 0.12972°W / 51.50972; -0.12972
Organisation
TypeSpecialist
Services
SpecialityDentistry
History
Opened1858
Closed1985
Links
ListsHospitals in England

The Royal Dental Hospital was a dental hospital in Leicester Square, London. It operated from 1858 until 1985 and included the Royal Dental Hospital of London School of Dental Surgery, the first dental school in Britain.

History[]

The hospital was opened on 1 December 1858 as the Dental Hospital of London by the Odontological Society of London, itself founded in 1856.[1][2] The Odontologicals were one of the two main dental societies in mid nineteenth-century Britain, the other being the College of Dentists of England. The College of Dentists founded the rival National Dental Hospital in Tottenham Court Road in 1861. The two societies merged in 1863 to form the Odontological Society of Great Britain and joined the Royal Society of Medicine as its Odontological Section in 1907.[1]

The hospital was initially based at 22 Soho Square. It opened the first dental school in Britain, the London School of Dental Surgery, on 1 October 1859. Four days later, the College of Dentists founded their own Metropolitan School of Dental Science.[1][2] In 1874 the hospital moved to 40–41 Leicester Square and in 1901 to a newly built larger building designed by the architects Young and Hall at 31–36 Leicester Square.[3] In the same year, King Edward VII awarded the title of Royal Dental Hospital.[1] The cost of the new building was funded by loans which were not repaid until 1930.[4]: 70  The dental school was recognised as a school of the University of London in 1911.[2] At first the school only admitted men, but it agreed to admit women in 1915. The decision was reversed between 1933 and 1939.[4]: 72, 94  In 1948 the hospital became part of the St George's Hospital Group under the National Health Act.[2]

In the mid-1980s the dental services transferred to St George's Hospital, Tooting, and the dental school was merged with the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals. The hospital closed in 1985 and the building was redeveloped as the Hampshire Hotel.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d Gelbier, Stanley (1 Oct 2005). "Dentistry and the University of London". Medical History. 49 (4): 445–462. doi:10.1017/s0025727300009157. PMC 1251639. PMID 16562330.
  2. ^ a b c d "Royal Dental Hospital And School". British Medical Journal. 1 (5083): 1351. 7 June 1958. JSTOR 25380850. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  3. ^ Sheppard, F. H. W., ed. (1966). "Leicester Square, South Side: Leicester Estate, Nos 31–42 Leicester Square and Spur Street". Survey of London: Volumes 33 and 34, St Anne Soho. London: London County Council. pp. 504–506. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b Smith, E; Cotell, B (1997). A History of the Royal Dental Hospital of London and School of Dental Surgery, 1858–1985. London: Athlone Press. ISBN 9780485115178.
  5. ^ "Royal Dental Hospital and School of Dental Surgery". London Metropolitan Archives. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
Retrieved from ""