New Director Appointed At The National Museum of Dentistry

January 11, 2010, Jonathan W. Landers, a nonprofit executive with more than 30 years of experience in marketing, museum, and corporate leadership, has been appointed executive director of the National Museum of Dentistry in Baltimore, Maryland. An Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum is the only museum of its kind to celebrate the history of the dental profession and educate the public about the importance of good oral health to a healthy life.

 “Mr. Landers was selected from a broad range of candidates as the individual who would be best able to assume this role and allow the National Museum of Dentistry to realize its potential and continue to grow,” said Dr. Leslie W. Seldin, Chair of the National Museum of Dentistry’s Board of Visitors. “With Mr. Landers’ assumption of his new responsibilities, I feel confident that 2010 will prove to be a banner year for the Museum and one in which we will be able to accomplish all of our strategic goals.”  

Opened in 1996, the National Museum of Dentistry is a lively national center where visitors discover the power a healthy smile and the rich history of dentistry. Considered America’s premier museum dedicated to dental history and oral health, 7,000 square feet of exhibition space offers visitors an extraordinary array of historic artifacts and interactive exhibits that inspire people to make healthy choices about oral health. The museum’s 40,000-object collection is one of the most important and oldest in the world. Highlights include George Washington’s ivory denture, Queen Victoria’s personal dental instruments, and a whimsical collection of toothbrushes ranging from the 1800s to the present. The core collection traces its roots to the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, the world’s first college of dentistry, founded in 1840. The National Museum of Dentistry also develops traveling exhibitions that tour children’s and science museums through the United States and Canada, providing the public with engaging information about oral health.