Identity
The Museum’s primary mission is to receive, safely keep, maintain, document, research, and mainly exhibit and promote dental science and the dental profession from ancient times to the present day. At the same time, it contributes to the students’ education and creates educational programs that familiarize students with Dentistry and promote oral hygiene and health in all levels of education. The utmost goal is to explore the contribution of the Ancient Greek Heritage to the constitution of the modern European Dental Tradition and to approach the historical evolution of Greek Dentistry, primarily through the influences of the European dental know-how. The use of Multimedia Technology was decided to establish a prototype Digital Museum that would promote the Museum’s scope beyond the conventional ways of addressing the public. In this direction, the online website was created in Greek and also in English for selected content, aiming to communicate with the online visitor by providing material and information about the Museum exhibits, and also, by diving into the unknown features of the history of Dentistry and its professionals both in Greece and in Europe.

History
The Museum of Dentistry was established by decision of the Department's Assembly on 13-02-2013 and the Senate on 17-07-2013; in July 2017, the Museum's founding was published, and its internal regulation of operation was approved in the Government Gazette. The lack of a relevant museum in Greece, excluding the limited Dental Collection at the University's History Museum, prompted the establishment of the Museum. An additional factor was the 2000 discovery of the School's Archive, existing since 1920, and the scattered dental tools and equipment of historical value in many different locations. The Museum of the Dental Department of the University of Athens opened for the public in December 2013, and it is the only one of its kind in the Eastern Mediterranean. The main exhibition space is located on the 1st floor of the New Building. The exhibits refer to the history of the Department of Dentistry of Athens, Dentistry in Greece, and the historical development of Dentistry at an international level. The Museum's collection includes, among other things, old dental tools, equipment, and dental units, as well as relevant photographic and printed material from the school’s history. Given the fact that an essential part of the History of Dentistry is the history of the people who tried to explore, understand and apply the principles governing the science of Dentistry, an attempt was made to initiate the dialogue between yesterday and today by creating museum exhibition islets in selected parts of the building complex of the Dental School so that they are in the students' and the patients' plain view daily. In addition, the Museum of the Department of Dentistry included the Historical Archive of the Department since 1916, which was found intact in 2000. The archival documents clearly depict the first university dental unit in the City Clinic (Astykliniki), the changes it underwent over time, and the stages of transformation to its current form.

Types of audiences
The Museum's primary mission is to receive, safely keep, maintain, document, research, and mainly exhibit and promote dental science and the dental profession from ancient times to the present day. At the same time, it contributes to the students' education and creates educational programs that familiarize students with Dentistry and promote oral hygiene and health in all levels of education. Moreover, it is the only institution in Greece that dentists and anyone interested in the history and evolution of dentistry can refer to.

Collections & Exhibitions
The oldest Dental Unit of 1920 is housed in the main area of our museum, in a specially designed space depicting an old dental clinic, where the visitor observes the toolbox, the wall-mounted dental drill, the sputum, the micro-tools, the library and a gold scale! Also, the Museum has a copy of dental pliers from the 2nd century AD which was studied for the first time in Greece by scientists associated with the Museum. It was discovered in the early 1970s, during the excavations of ancient Kallipoli and the original is housed in the Archaeological Museum of Amfissa. The research results have been published in a scientific journal. The foot-operated dental wheel is a special dental drill which was used to remove the damaged parts of the tooth, as well as to create cavities for sealing. The invention of the foot-operated drill is attributed to the American J. Greenwood in 1790, and it has been extensively used worldwide until the beginning of the last century. In the newly established Greek state, it exists since the emergence of the dental profession. When the Dental School opened as a branch of the National University’s Medical School (1916), the foot-operated drill was immediately included in the students’ education and each student was required to purchase one. Twenty-one years later, as documented in the anniversary publication "National and Kapodistrian University of Athens – Centennial 1837-1937", it is still an indispensable tool in the education of students. On October 28, 1940, immediately after the declaration of the Greek-Italian War, the drills were confiscated by Greek military authorities. In July 1941, per the archival material of the school, they were returned to the students with an announcement from the Secretariat of the Dental School. In September 1941, the testaments of two female students of the "absolute necessity" for the immediate return of the confiscated drills in order to continue their dental practical education were characteristic of the educational value of foot-operated drills. For decades the education of the University of Athens’ dental students was based on foot-operated drills, precursors of modern electric drills, which are exhibited in the Museum of the Dentistry Department.

Events & Activities
The Museum, aspiring to communicate with the city and benefit society, has created educational annual programs to attract students of all levels. The programs include: guided tour of the central area of the Museum and the exhibition islets of the Department, presenting the history of dentistry and the basic principles of oral hygiene by the laboratories and clinics of the Department, and finally perform free preventive, diagnostic testing in the Department’s clinics. During the academic year 2019-2020, the Museum co-organized with the Laboratory of Dental Surgery the Student Competition on Nutrition and Dental Health. The Museum participates in all the Open Museums days designated by the Athens University’s Museums. It co-organized with the Athens University History Museum the 4th Student Competition 2018-2019.

Accessibility
Physically challenged people access the building through an entrance elevator and ramp.

Terms of Operation
The Museum can be visited by appointment, Monday through Friday 9:00-15.00.
Director:Georgios Vougiouklakis, Professor Emeritus of the School of Dentistry.

Decision of Establishment
Government Gazette B ́ 2503/20.07.2017.