by E. O. Muller

In the late 1880s Edward Power, having outgrown the shed behind his fathers chemist shop at No 9 High Street, Walton on Thames, moved to a workshop in Church Walk and by 1896 had built the instrument factory shown in the photograph. In 1902 he set up a limited company, The Power Manufacturing Company Ltd, which was taken over by Claudius Ash, Sons & Company (1905) Ltd in 1907 with Edward Power as Managing Director. This in turn merged with De-Trey of Kentish Town in 1924 to form the Amalgamated Dental Co Ltd. They built a large factory complex on the north side of Churchfield Road at Walton and the old premises were demolished.

Alan Montgomery of Dentsply reviews his 23 years in the trade

Well, when I was asked to write about my 23 years in dentistry, how things have changed and some of the highlights, I thought how can you put it into words!

Although 23 years sounds a long time in the trade, I know many others who have done at least 40 years and more, so the longevity of being in the dental industry can't be a bad thing.

by Allan Budgen

In 1947 the National Health Service was introduced by Act of Parliament. For the first time patients could receive treatment free of charge whether it be medical, dental, optical or many other clinical disciplines. This meant that dental patients could demand dentures, extractions or restorative treatment that led the general public to abuse the NHS with some patients having a set of dentures for every day of the week!

by Merton Paul

Mr Merton Paul, a retired company director of Wright Dental Sales, Manchester, has kindly supplied the 1960/61 retail price list of dental sundries and equipment. It is a complete price list of every product of every member company of the BDTA at that time. An extract from the 400-page document is included opposite (click on the image to open a new window). The full original copy is now part of the BDTA archive collection and a full copy has also been supplied to the BDA Museum.

by Alan Budgen

In 1994 the Council of the British Trade Association agreed to fund a training manual for people new to the dental industry. The original document was written by John Davis and Peter DeTrey and provided a basis for an Introduction to Dentistry.

by Paul Coughlan

In 1966, after serving an apprenticeship as an electrical engineer and a further 5 years running an electrical engineering maintenance department, I was offered the opportunity to join F. H. Baxter in Bradford as a dental service engineer – and it was the best move I ever made. Here I am 40 years later still working in the same industry. I joined Baxter’s about a couple of months or so after Peter Baxter (no relation to the company), so we both celebrate 40 years in the industry this year.

Thomas Henry Brown, LDS (1906—1993)

Anthony T Brown, JP LDS (1940-)

by Pam Swain

While the History Section of the website is intended to reflect matters relating to the background and growth of the BDTA, we see it as an excellent opportunity to feature the creation of other associated bodies. Accordingly we are delighted to have received from Pam Swain, the following introductory comments and early photographs of the BADN, the British Association of Dental Nurses.

"We are indebted to Derek Pacy, formerly a Director of the Claudius Ash Ltd.business, for the provision of a copy of a letter from one member of the Ash family to another, written in March 1913. The letter not only relates to significant business decisions but reveals the sensitivity of the man who is recognised for the contribution he made to establishing dental trading in Great Britain."

Written to William Henry Ash, Great Grandson of Claudius, and the Great Grandfather of Claud Ash (also christened Claudius)

The History of the British Dental Trade – or the first 164 years.

The 3M Dental Products Team of 1977

3M Dental Products – The Early Years by Garth Jessamine

"Seven years later I left Imperial and joined a company with the strange name of Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing with Headquarters in St Paul, Minnesota, USA. Thankfully some bright soul in due course recognised the advantage of abbreviating the name to 3M."

The BDTA Roll of Honour

In recognition of outstanding service to the Association over many years