YANKS at the dentists in Worcester a century ago certainly didn't mean the painful pulling out of teeth!

On the contrary, our cousins from across the Atlantic - the "Yanks" - were making all the running in this country with new measures to take the horrors out of dentistry.

This is explanation why the American Dentists' Association had a branch right in the centre of Worcester - at the corner of The Cross and Angel Street, in Georgian premises which still survive today, though having gone from a series of different uses down the years.

This far distant outpost of the American organisation was a feature of the Worcester scene for about 20 years, from 1889 and through the Edwardian era. Clearly, many hundreds of local people benefitted from the dentistry it offered in the heart of the Faithful City.

Around a century ago, the American Dentists' Association proclaimed in local journals: "The superiority of the American system of dentistry over all others has been amply demonstrated during the past two decades, and the remarkable success achieved by our Association in this country proves that the British public fully appreciate this fact.

"Not many years ago, a visit to the dentists was viewed by all with apprehension, if not with actual horror, and it is due to our American cousins that this has been all changed. One can now enter the dental surgery with as little fear as one would a hairdressing saloon.

"By the American system there is no need to extract teeth, and it is consequently painless. Then the most useless stumps and shells of teeth are utilised as the bases of crowns which make them perfect for masticating, while the artificial teeth supplied by the Association are made with such skill as to defy detection.

"At the same time, the charges are about half those demanded by other dentists who are vainly trying to keep up a monopoly at the expense of the public.

Space precludes our giving any detailed account of this admirable system of dentistry, but full particulars will be found in the capital little brochure issued by the Association, which should be in the hands of every sufferer from dental affections.

"Our Worcester establishment offers several comfortable reception rooms, operating rooms equipped with the most modern appliances, and large workshops where all mechanical processes are carried through.

"This establishment has been opened since 1889 and has gained the confidence and support of all sections of the community."

n The foregoing was drawn from the book Worcester at Work - Portrait of a Victorian City, introduction by Michael Grundy, published by Osborne Heritage of Worcester.

n I have further pictorial evidence that Worcester people of a century ago clearly had a fascination with things North American.

Keith Dolphin of Dilmore Avenue, Fernhill Heath, has kindly allowed me to copy some of his collection of old postcard views of the Faithful City, among them the Victorian scene, right.

It shows Greyfriars in Friar Street, more than a century ago. Note that the shop in the imposing gable section on the left is called the Canadian Stores!

I wonder what it sold?