TEETH
Medical Museion Shows Its Teeth
March 26 – December 21, 2025
In a new exhibition, Medical Museion highlights the often-overlooked connection between dental health and overall bodily health. With rare, historical objects from the museum’s renowned dental collection, the exhibition explores the cultural and historical significance of teeth – from the blacksmith’s pliers to modern dentistry.
Exhibition about teeth in body and culture
Putting Teeth Back in the Body
Historically, teeth have often been considered separate from the rest of the body. Dentistry has long been an independent profession, and to this day, dental diseases are rarely associated with general health. However, research shows that oral health has a direct impact on the body. Oral diseases can impact the heart, lungs, and nervous system. With this exhibition, Medical Museion underscores the connection between teeth and overall health, emphasizing that our general well-being depends on a healthy mouth.
Smile, and the World Smiles Back
Teeth shape how we present ourselves and how others perceive us. Dental damage, discoloration, and oral health issues can influence self-esteem and social life. In an era where a perfect, white smile is associated with success, teeth are not only a symbol of health but also of social status.
What You Can Experience
The exhibition consists of two rooms filled with historical objects from Medical Museion’s dental collection, current research on dental health, as well as films and photographs.
Visitors can get up close to gold teeth, dentures, and golden grillz. The museum showcases beautiful dental instruments from the 1840s, cavities seen through a microscope, and a nostalgic reunion with the classic children’s horror story Karius and Baktus. The exhibition also features a detailed wax model of the mouth’s nerve pathways and a very special object – Johann Friedrich Struensee’s tooth.
Visitors can insert their heads into large, specially designed teeth, where mirrors offer the opportunity to closely examine their own dentition. Or they can sit in a dental chair and watch a newly commissioned film about teeth, projected onto the ceiling.
Guided Tours
Are you interested in an exciting guided tour of the exhibition TEETH? We offer various options for groups and school classes.
Read about the guided tours
New Science Podcast on Struensee’s Tooth
The Mystery of Struensee’s Tooth
In collaboration with Kongerækken, Medical Museion is launching a new science podcast in four episodes, delving into the historical mystery of Struensee’s tooth. Did you know that Struensee made his own toothpaste? What was dental health like in his time? And can it be proven that the tooth really belonged to him? The podcast will be released in June 2025.
Photo: Kirstine Autzen
Behind the Exhibition
- TEETH is curated by Medical Museion, part of the Department of Public Health and the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research (CBMR) at the University of Copenhagen.
- The exhibition is supported by Cand. Pharm. Povl M. Assens Foundation.
- The podcast Struensee’s Tooth is supported by the Carlsberg Foundation.
- Exhibition design by Studio Reflektor, consisting of designers Stine Friese and Mathilde Friese.
- Exhibition film by director Andreas Thaulow.
- Press photos of objects by Kirstine Autzen.
Presse
Press
Julie Wouwenaar Tovgaard, julie.tovgaard@sund.ku.dk, 5189 5258
Curator
Anne Bernth Jensen, anje@sund.ku.dk, 9356 51 61
Head of Program and Communications
Martin Gerster Johansen, magj@sund.ku.dk, 9356 3582
Dental Expert
Merete Markvart, Lecturer, Dentist, Ph.D. Researcher at the University of Copenhagen mema@sund.ku.dk, 9356 5665
“Teeth are unique because, unlike the rest of the body, they do not regenerate. Bones, cells, and tissues elsewhere in the body are continuously replaced, but tooth enamel is formed once and for all. When it wears away or disappears, it never returns. However, the tooth still harbors life within – in the form of the dental nerve.”
– Merete Markvart, tandlæge og
forsker ved Københavns Universitet.
“Over the past 20 years, our focus on dental aesthetics has grown significantly. We cultivate our teeth like never before – from whitening to porcelain veneers. They are not just part of our smile but also a crucial aspect of our identity and self-image. Decorating teeth has become more common, but this is far from a new trend. In the past, for instance, gold teeth were a status symbol, signaling wealth and social prestige.”
– Anne Bernth Jensen,
Curator, Medical Museion
“In the 1970s, it became evident that prevention works – and thus, school dental care became part of public healthcare. However, teeth have never had the same status as the rest of the body in the healthcare system. Today, we know that gum diseases can be linked to serious health problems such as cardiovascular diseases, yet dental care remains largely a private matter. Once, it was the blacksmith who pulled teeth – and even today, dental care stands on the fringes of the public healthcare system.”
– Merete Markvart, Dentist and Researcher,
University of Copenhagen
“In the past, people lost their permanent teeth quickly – it was not uncommon to receive dentures as a confirmation gift. Today, most elderly individuals keep their natural teeth well into old age. But this creates a new challenge: vulnerable elderly people often require special assistance in maintaining their teeth, which calls for increased focus on oral hygiene and new initiatives in nursing homes and hospitals.”
– Merete Markvart, Dentist and Researcher,
University of Copenhagen
“Teeth shape both our appearance, our self-perception, and how others see us. They become part of our identity and can be a source of both low self-esteem and shame, impacting our social lives. How you smile greatly influences how the world smiles back at you.”
– Anne Bernth Jensen,
Curator, Medical Museion
