Dox Denture Grinder

The Dox Denture Grinder was invented in 1933 by Hurtle Thomas Jack Edwards. Born in 1897, Edwards was one of six, who were the first graduates of the University of Adelaide Dental school in 1923. He was Honorary Dental Surgeon at Royal Adelaide Hospital from 1924 to 1948 and Lecturer at University of Adelaide from 1923 until 1960.

The grinder was a hand operated machine used to ‘grind in’ the bite of full upper and lower dentures. When dentures are made, they often don’t fit together correctly and need careful grinding to make them functional. The ill-fitting dentures are attached to the machine, grinding paste is put on the chewing surfaces of the upper and lower teeth and the handle of the Dox Grinder is turned. This imitates the movement of chewing which removes any imperfections, producing a pair of dentures that fit together well.

“In Prosthetic Dentistry we were mainly taught by Dr. Jack Edwards and I believe we were given a sound teaching at the time. He had invented the Dox Grinder which was marvellous for giving an even occlusion when you stuffed up the bite. The FUFL was mounted on the Dox which was like an articulator with a handle. Valve grinding paste was placed between the teeth and the handle of the machine turned and the teeth would rotate against each other, remove the initial contacts and give a balanced but flat occlusion. It was the panacea for all FUFL’s with occlusal discrepancies.”

Dr Myhill’s lecture ‘Dentistry in 1940’s”

By Margot Way, CALHN Health Museum