Summary

Multi-purpose stainless steel dental scaler and burnisher, manufactured by Claudius Ash & Sons, England, circa 1910-30.

Scaler is used to remove dental plaque from teeth and burnisher is to smooth grooves in tooth's surface following dental restoration procedures. Scaler has a straight (anterior) shank whilst burnisher has a curved (posterior) shank. The curve assists in better accessing certain regions of the mouth.

Claudius Ash & Sons first began when Claudius took over his father's gold and silver smithing business in the 1820s. Whilst following his father's footsteps at first, Claudius soon found himself receiving more requests for custom made dentures as no one was really making them that successfully at the time. Word of his fine craftsmanship soon spread and by 1850 Claudius had shifted his business focus entirely to making porcelain dentures, often set in gold plates. His family joined the business as it continued to expand and in 1924 Claudius Ash & Sons merged with De Trey & Co to form the Amalgamated Dental Company.

Previously owned by Dr Leopold Polack who operated a dental practice in Hawthorn, Victoria from the1950s-1970s.

Physical Description

Thin stainless steel instrument with curved arm and ball tip at one end and fine pointed tip at the other end. The central octagonal knurled section acts as a gripping handle.

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