Odontologia is the name of an iconic emblem, used by the American Dental Association. The Association was founded at the end of the 1850s by William Henry Atkinson and is considered the world’s oldest organization in this segment. Apart from being the oldest, it is also the largest, with more than 160 thousand members nationwide.
Odontologia is the Logo, that symbolizes dentistry in general. One of those common emblems, standing for all connected to the industry at once. The American Dental Association adopted the emblem as its official badge in 1965, but the emblem was designed years before.
All symbols on the Odontologia insignia are borrowed from Greek mythology. This, the central element of the badge, the physiques staff with the snake around it, is the symbol of Asclepios, the Greek god of medicine.
The snake itself is also very symbolic, as it was used in many ways for medicinal purposes by the Ancient Greek people. And they even let the snakes freely crawl in hospitals and homes where there were sick or injured people. The animal represents health and rejuvenation (the snake’s shedding of skin).
Another interesting symbolic thing about the Odontologia emblem is in the background behind the snake. There are two branches, which in common have 32 leaves and 20 berries, where the leaves stand for permanent teeth (32), and the berries — for baby teeth (20).
The badge has a framing of two geometric elements, a triangle, and a circle, which are also two Greek letters, “Delta” — the triangle, and “Omicron” — the circle. Here another meaning is hidden, as Adele’s stands for dentistry in general, and Omicron signifies a tooth, which is “Odont” in Greek.
What is Odontologia?
Odontologia is the name of an emblem, representing dentistry in general. The badge was adopted as an official logo of the American Dental Association in 1965. The Association was created in 1859, and today is considered to be the oldest and the largest in its segment.
The symbol of dentistry is something timeless and unchangeable, although the color palette of the badge has been alternated several times, depending on the needs of the Association. Today the badge can be seen in black-and-white, or purple-and-white, as purple (or lilac) is considered to be the official color of dentistry.
There is also a more colorful version, with a solid purple background, a golden circular frame, a dark green triangle, and white details in the middle. The snake can be drawn in white, or beige, close to gold.
The iconic Odontologia badge was adopted by the American Dental Association in 1965 and has only changed its color palette from that time. The badge is composed of a circular medallion in a bold frame (Omicron) intertwined with a triangle (Delta).
From the peak of the triangle to the central point of its base the physician’s staff, a symbol of the Greek god Asclepios is drawn, with the snake around it. Two leafy branches are drawn behind the snake, facing to the sides from the center.
The bottom part of the circular frame element has an elegant uppercase “Dentistry” inscription written on it in a fancy serif typeface with some lines elongated and curved.