A historic timeline exploring the long history of public oral healthcare and dental student training.
 

The Dental Act of NSW passed in 1904 allowing the amalgamation of the University of Sydney Dental Hospital and the Dental Hospital of Sydney. The Dental Hospital of Sydney was operated and financed by dentists for members of the community who were unable to afford private dental treatment. The University Dental Hospital (founded in 1901) provided clinical training in dentistry.

It appears to me that one purpose to be served by the amalgamation will be to let loose a lot of young University cubs who want to practise on the jaws of the community under sanction of an Act of Parliament. 

– John Norton, Member for Surry Hills, 1904

Land was set aside by the NSW Government at the current site on Chalmers Street for the construction of a new and modern building. The state government would fund the construction, ultimately costing £7500, but a condition was stipulated that the dental profession and the public would be required to fund the hospital equipment. The four-storey building modelled on the Pennsylvania Dental College was completed opened in 1912 and was the first purposefully designed dental hospital to be erected in Australia. 

The building is one of the best of its kind to be seen anywhere; there is nothing in the Southern Hemisphere in the shape of a Dental Hospital to equal it.

– E. Randolph Magnus, President of the United Dental Hospital

In 1919 a fire broke out in surrounding buildings housing businesses including a wholesale grocer, shirt factory and Lincoln Motor Car Company. The fire would reach eight stories and would decimate the buildings including the United Dental Hospital and School Clinic. While the Dental hospital would be rebuilt, the surrounding collapsed buildings were damaged beyond repair and demolished.
 

By the late 1930s, the original building was proving inadequate to meet the demands of the growing numbers of patients, staff and students in Sydney. The NSW Government granted additional funds to purchase the triangle section of land to the North of the hospital. Leading architects Stephenson and Turner were engaged to construct a new and modern building.
 

The building was constructed with seven floors and the ability to accommodate a further two if needed. Costing nearly £152,600, and partially paid for by a grant from the State Lottery, the new flatiron styled Hospital opened on 15 April 1940, before an audience of 900 people. It housed a School for the Faculty of Dentistry from the University of Sydney, a lecture room, library, museum, cafeteria, operating theatre, waiting areas with one dedicated to children, and wards for overnight stays.
 

It is claimed to be the most modern, best equipped hospital of its kind in the Southern hemisphere. After major dental operations, patients often have to stay at the hospital for a day or two, with wards for men and women provided.

– Pix Magazine, 1941

In 1948, two additional stories were added to the flatiron building. The 1912 built hospital section was demolished, with extensions rebuilt to the rear of the hospital constructed between 1948-1956.
 

In 1973, the old Metro Goldwyn Mayer building was acquired for the hospital by the Hospitals Commission of NSW at a cost of $400,000. It was renovated and added to the hospital's building to make provision for the ever-growing needs of The Faculty of Dentistry. In the meantime, the Marchant Site which lay between the hospital and the Metro Goldwyn Mayer building was also acquired and renovated for use by the hospital. 

The Board of Directors have now been dissolved and United Dental Hospital has been incorporated into the Central Sydney Area Health Service effective 1 July. 

– Central Sydney Area Health Service Annual Report, 1992

The United Dental Hospital has undergone several further refurbishments and upgrades since to meet the needs of changing technology and expanded services. Upon its centenary birthday in 2004 the hospital was renamed the Sydney Dental Hospital.