Sydney Dental History

Designed by leading architects Stephenson, Meldrum and Turner, the Inter-War functionalist style United Dental Hospital flatiron building opened in 1940. While it was initially planned as an eleven-story building, it opened with seven and the option to add two additional stories in the future (later added in 1948). Flatiron buildings were designed to accommodate odd shaped land with acute corners.

Dental surgery was televised for the first time in Australia in 1950 at the United Dental Hospital. The operation, ‘the reduction of a protruding lower jaw by removing bone sections to bring about a normal profile’, was televised on screens installed on four floors of the hospital. It was witnessed by 1000 Australian Dental Congress delegates, many of whom were from remote inland areas, with limited opportunities to witness such operations. The operation was also watched by three people that had previously undergone the surgery.

On 18 June 1919 one of the largest fires seen in Sydney destroyed the United Dental Hospital and School Clinic, along with several surrounding buildings and businesses. Those businesses included a wholesale grocery firm, a shirt factory and Lincoln Motor Car Company. The resulting blaze rose eight stories high completely destroying all buildings. Large sections of the buildings collapsed and would have to be demolished and rebuilt over the following years.