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An online museum exhibition, called "About Faces: The Postwar Boom in Craniofacial Knowledge," provides a detailed look at the science of our faces. It features information about the oral cavity, as well as eyes, ears, nose and skin.
The exhibit notes that tooth decay was rampant in the years following World War II, and that many Americans were toothless by age 45. This national problem spurred Congress to create the National Institute of Dental Research
(NIDR) in 1948 as part of the National Institutes of Health.
The display talks about some of the groundbreaking dental research in the past 50 years, including studies on the preventive effects of fluoride on tooth decay, the discovery that periodontal disease is a bacterial infection, and the possible links between that bacteria and other conditions such as heart disease and premature births.
The exhibit includes photos, advertisements and public service messages related to dental research.
The exhibition is based on an exhibit produced jointly by the Smithsonian Institution and NIDCR. "About Faces" previously appeared at the National Museum of American History.
To access the online exhibit, go to www.nidcr.nih.gov/iyf/index.html.
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