Main

Previous literature has provided a fascinating insight in to the lives of William Warwick James and Matthew Henry Cryer, and an appeal has been made for further information about Dr Coupland, inventor of Coupand's elevators.1 Subsequently, information came to light about Dr Coupland's life and the manufacturers of his chisels.2 This article aims to further answer that call for information by enhancing the knowledge base with respect to Dr Coupland's life, by emphasising his valuable contribution to oral surgery with respect to his inventions, and by reporting his academic work.

Dr Douglas Charles William Coupland's birth certificate states that he was born on 4 May 1901, in St. Mary's Hospital, Perth, Ontario. His father was Charles Wilkin Coupland of Canada, born on 17 September 1876, and died in 1942. His mother, Catherine Smith, (1877–1947) was born in Ireland. He had a younger sister, Amy Elizabeth, who sadly died at three years of age following complications of encephalitis that arose following a middle ear infection of just two days duration (1904–1907). Coupland had a second sister, Margaret, born in 1914, who survived until 1997.

Coupland attended St Mary's School, Ottawa, before commencing his dental education. He graduated in 1922, at the top of his class, from The Royal College of Dental Surgeons (RCDS) of Ontario, now known as the University of Toronto, Faculty of Dentistry. As a student, he was known by his peers as 'Coupie'. He was described in his class yearbook as 'a man who knows what he wants and gets it', and that he 'roamed the north in quest of gold, at home on the trail or in the saddle'.

Following his graduation, at the age of 24 years, Coupland practised in Sudbury, Ontario for 18 months before relocating to Ottawa, where he practised exodontia as a speciality. He married Jean Elizabeth Young, on the 11 May 1925, within the Church of England in Sudbury. They had two children, Douglas (1926–2016) and James (1929–2013), both of whom became dental surgeons.

During his career, Coupland held many positions of responsibility as a respected member of the dental community, including that of Member of the Board of RCDS of Ontario, Past Member of the Board of Governors of Ontario Dental Association, and Past President of the Eastern Ontario Dental Society. He was also a member of the editorial board of the Journal Oral Health, and he published on the subjects of exodontia, dental infection and post-operative pain (Box 1).3,4,5,6,7,8

Coupland invented his namesake elevators during the 1920s, originally designed as a set of 12, later eight, and then three (Fig. 1). Coupland refers to the instruments he designed in his written work as chisels 3, 8 and 9. It is not known why the remaining chisels are no longer in production, however, it is assumed that Coupland, or subsequent users, determined that the three chisels as we know them were the most applicable for their intended applications. Of note, Coupland does not refer to his instruments as 'Coupland' chisels in his written work.6 It has been reported that Coupland arranged for his chisels to be manufactured by the company Hu-Friedy, and that he also designed an aspirator handle (Fig. 2).2 To this day, Hu-Friedy continue to supply the dental workforce with Coupland's elevators. Many readers may be unaware, that Hu-Friedy also continue to manufacture Coupland's aspirator handle, designed as a surgical aspirator used for precision suction.

Figure 1
figure 1

Coupland's Chisels 1,2,3

Full size image
Figure 2
figure 2

Coupland Aspirator Handle. with kind permission from Hu-Freidy

Full size image

The only previously published photograph of Coupland appears in a CPD advert published in 1930, promoting his appearance at a conference in the Royal York Hotel, Ontario (Fig. 3).9 This photograph was also featured in an obituary published following his death.10

Figure 3
figure 3

Dr Douglas Charles William Coupland

Full size image

Coupland worked throughout the roaring twenties and the start of the great depression, until December 1935, at which time he contracted a prolonged spell of illness associated with mitral stenosis. He passed away on 12 May 1936, after practising dentistry for just 14 years.2 Coupland's death certificate states cause of death as endocarditis. Notably, his date of birth differs on his death certificate (4 May 1901) from that of his birth registry (5 May 1901). His death was notified by his cousin, James D. Coupland. He is buried in St Mary's Cemetery, Perth, Ontario.

It is astonishing to think that Coupland's obituaries, published in the dental literature a month after his death, made no mention of the instruments he invented, and which are still used all over the world today, almost 100 years later.10,11 It can only be assumed that Coupland was credited with their design posthumously.

Coupland was a dentist who achieved many remarkable things in his tragically short life. We leave you with this quote featured alongside his yearbook photograph: 'Mark you this man, we shall hear of him again'.