OKLAHOMA CITY – A beloved, decades-old exhibit at OKC’s Science Museum Oklahoma re-opened Monday with a fully refreshed new look, a new community business partnership, and deeper dive into the updated science that powers our own oral hygiene.
That’s right, it’s the long-awaited return of Mighty Mouth, the Science Museum’s giant, enlarged mouth exhibit that for nearly 40 years has invited guests into an up-close look at the science and the hygienic habits that keep our teeth healthy.
After four decades’ worth of wear and tear – an occupational hazard for any exhibit in the hands-on learning environment of SMO – the exhibit was in need of some significant reconstructive work.
So museum leaders and curators used that as an opportunity to partner with the non-profit Delta Dental of Oklahoma and their foundation to not only repair and rebuild the prodigious palate, but to expand it into an all-new attraction taking museum guests on a dental detour of hygiene habits and tooth tech.
“This has been a beloved experience, and it’s been reimagined for the new generation,” Science Museum President Sherry Marshall told a gathered crowd of reporters, fans, investors, and longstanding supporters at the ribbon-cutting event Monday.
“Every detail in this exhibition, from the textures to the storytelling, is intentionally crafted to spark curiosity in all those who experience it,” Marshall told the event. “You never know who’s going to walk out of here as the next dentist, healthcare provider, biologist, researcher, or innovator, all because they got to leave their smile behind.”
Leaving your smile behind in the museum is a feature of the newly updated exhibit, which features an interactive dentist’s chair inviting visitors to lay back and smile wide while a camera snaps a shot of their grin and adds it to the always-updating “Wall of Smiles.”
It’s one of the new features inside Mighty Mouth – along with hands-on activities around tooth decay, flossing, braces, and more – that were made possible through funding and collaboration from Delta Dental of Oklahoma, a non-profit focused on providing access to dental healthcare.
“We are deeply grateful to the Delta Dental of Oklahoma Foundation for allowing us to bring this together with them to the community,” Marshall said. “Their partnership has made it possible to elevate this exhibit into a powerful platform for improving oral health and awareness.”
Of course, it’s not just museum technologies and building materials that have improved since the original Mighty Mouth opened in 1987. The science of oral health itself has also evolved.
“We’re really making sure that the science is current and seeing how things might have changed over the past forty years,” Marshall told Free Press following the ribbon-cutting. “We want to make sure that everything is current and accurate, but also that it’s exciting and relevant and interactive in ways that feel new and fresh for younger generations.”
As you might imagine, it’s a constant struggle for Science Museum curators and organizers to keep all of the science and information in the museum up-to-date and current to new research or recent findings.
While most museums are just providing glimpses into the past, Science Museum Oklahoma is always working to stay on the cutting edge, whether through their state-of-the-art new planetarium that can be updated with new findings at a moment’s notice or through this new Delta Dental Mighty Mouth providing the cleanest, freshest look at oral health and biology.
According to Science Museum Communications Director Abby Wolfe, keeping things current can be a full-time job.
“We actually have someone on staff solely dedicated to that,” Wolfe said. “Their job is just designing exhibits and replacing signs.”
Brett Fieldcamp is the owner and Editor in Chief of Oklahoma City Free Press. He has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly two decades and served as Arts & Entertainment Editor before purchasing the company from founder Brett Dickerson in 2026.
He is also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
