Abstract
Dental phantoms have been used in dental education since the late nineteenth century. These pedagogical objects – particularly those from the first half of the twentieth century – have today enjoyed a resurgence of interest in the art and film worlds. After first outlining the history and pedagogical purposes of the dental phantom, this article examines what the artistic and filmic attractions to the aesthetics of these objects can tell us about fear, the mouth and the face, and dental education. How and why can a dental teaching tool be scary? Arriving at some answers to this question – reached by exploring the role of the mouth within the face and within the concept of the grotesque – can help us to understand how frightening aesthetics have historically been baked into dental education, inuring trainees to the visual connections that their patients might make between dental work, horror villains, and the vulnerabilities of the body.
Recommended Citation
Slobogin, Christine
(2026)
"The Dental Phantom as a Tool for Exploring Fear, the Face, and Dental Education,"
Journal of the American College of Dentists: Vol. 92:
No.
2, Article 7.
Available at:
https://commons.ada.org/jacd/vol92/iss2/7
Included in
Dentistry Commons, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, Medical Education Commons, Medical Humanities Commons