Our Bureau
Vadodara
Asia’s first dental museum, Dr Chandarana Dental Museum is located in Vadodara and is a private establishment. The museum, dedicated to dental health education, has earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records with not one, but two records.
It holds the record for the largest collection of toothbrushes, as well as the largest display of these toothbrushes. The museum was founded in 2016 by dentist Yogesh Chandarana.
Today, the collection includes an impressive 2,371 toothbrushes. It features various types of toothbrushes, including traditional datun (a type of natural toothbrush) and 19th-century toothbrushes made from bone and animal hair.
Dr Yogesh Chandarana holds the record for the largest collection of toothbrushes, while the entire Chandarana family has earned recognition for the best display of these items. Previously, the record for the largest toothbrush collection was held by a Canadian girl who possessed 1,678 toothbrushes. In addition to toothbrushes, the museum also showcases a variety of historical artefacts related to dentistry and dental care.
Dr Yogesh Chandarana, owner of the museum said “There are many museums, but this Museum concept was completely new. I came to Baroda and got a job at SSG Hospital. After that, when I went to America, there was a museum called House on Rocks. There was only one person who had made his museum. There were different kinds of things in it. So, I thought, if one person can make a museum of so many things, then as a dentist, why can’t we make a museum of dental products…And that too in such a way that people come here and take information about their dental problems. So, this idea has been there since 2013. And in 2016, I implemented it. And in 2016, India and Asia’s first dental museum was set up. I won medals in that at national and international level. I started doing a toothbrush collection because toothbrushes are something that people have in their hands.
Yogesh Chandarana shared his experience of starting the museum, which began with a collection of 500 toothbrushes.
“When I started the museum, I had a collection of 500 toothbrushes. Then I saw it increasing. When my son came with the dentist, he said, Papa, there are so many toothbrushes. I said, look, there are so many. So, the Guinness Book of World Records’ last record was in 1618, so we contacted Guinness World. He said, if you do at least 200 more toothbrushes, you will get a record. So instead, we recorded 2371 and we got the largest display of toothbrushes in the world,” he said.
Dr Pranav Chandarana, son of the museum owner, said “We started when the museum had about 2,000 to 3,000 items related to dentistry from across the world, which included toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, old dental instruments, matchbox labels with dental advertisements, dental chairs, a collection of figures and other things and recently in India Book of Records and Asia Book of Records, we have got two Guinness Book of World Records, one of the largest collection of toothbrushes in the world, 2371 toothbrushes and the world’s largest toothbrush display, which is also unique, our family has also got a Guinness World Record.”
The dental museum not only provides information but also offers treatment, particularly for children, in a high-tech manner. Children receive information through engaging augmented reality animations.
Additionally, there are animatronic dental orchestras and health shows that have been introduced. For dental reports, your dental health assessments can be identified and sent to your mobile device within minutes through an AI dental screen.
