Women in dentistry

There is a long history of women in dentistry. Women are depicted as assistant dentists in the Middle Ages. Prior to the 19th century, dentistry was largely not yet a clearly defined and regulated profession with formal educational requirements. Individual female dentists are known from the 18th century. When the profession was regulated in the 19th century, it took a while before women achieved the formal education and permission to engage in dentistry.

Timeline

16th century 16th century: In a 1523 copper engraving by Lucas Van Leyden, an itinerant tooth drawer can be seen, with a woman standing behind the patient. While some interpreted the woman as a dental assistant, the person behind the patient is picking his pocket.

18th century In the 18th century dentistry was not yet a regulated and clearly defined profession, and could be performed by people of all professions, such as barbers and beauticians. The informality of the profession, where no formal education (unavailable to women) was not yet required, meant that women dentists did exist during the 18th century.

Early 18th century: A Mademoiselle De Reze published in 1719 a short treatise on elixirs for toothache entitled Dissertation Apologetique. This was a few years before "Le Chirugien Dentiste" by Pierre Fauchard in 1728. 1740: Madeleine-Françoise Calais became the first female dentist to obtain a license as a master dentist from the Surgical Society of Paris. 1755: A new law in France banned women from practicing any medical profession except midwifery. 1775: Hannah Crippen her services as a dentist and phlebotomist, continuing the business of her late husband, at Baldwins Gardens, Gray's Inn, London. 1777: A Mrs Levis or Lewis and her husband, advertised their services as dentists at Marylebone Street, Golden Square; Mrs Levis attended the women and Mr Levis, the men. 1777: A Mrs De St Raymond advertised her services as a dentist, from her home, No. 9, Kings-square Court, Soho, to the nobility and gentry. 1777: La Signora Foggioni of Genova advertises herself as a dentiste at No. 5, New George Street, Blackfriars Bridge, London. 1782: Maria Briwolski of Dresden was granted permission from the authorities to practice dentistry in Sweden. 1791: Catherine Madden of 53, St John's Street, West Smithfield, London, advertises her services as a dentist. 1792: A Mrs Hunter, a beautician, advertised her services as a dentist from her home, No 78 Great Titchfield Street.

19th century In the 19th century dentistry gradually became a regulated and clearly defined profession, and formal education come to be required to practice it. This initially excluded women from dentistry; however formal education gradually became available to women in the 19th-century, resulting in the first formally educated female dentists.

1814: Josephine Serre became the first woman to receive a dentistry degree from the University of Tartu. c. 1814–1830: A Madame Ana made a successful career as a "dentist for women" in a clinic on the Rue Rivoli in Paris, being the dentist of the royal Marie-Thérèse, Duchess of Angoulême. 1849: Polonia Sanz y Ferrer became the first female dentist in Spain. 1852: Amalia Assur became the first female dentist in Sweden; she was given special permission from the Royal Board of Health (Kongl. Sundhetskollegiets) to practice independently as a dentist, despite the fact that the profession was not legally opened to women in Sweden before 1861. 1855: Emeline Roberts Jones became the first woman to practice dentistry in the United States. 1866: Rosalie Fougelberg received a royal dispensation from Swedish King Charles XV and thus became the first woman in Sweden to officially practice dentistry since the profession had been legally opened to women in Sweden in 1861. 1866: Lucy Hobbs Taylor became the first woman to graduate from a dental college (Ohio Dental College). 1869: Henriette Hirschfeld-Tiburtius, born in Germany, became the first woman to take a full college course in dentistry, as Lucy Hobbs Taylor received credit for her time in dental practice before attending dental college. Henriette graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery in 1869. 1872: Petra Lie became the first female dentist in Norway. 1872, March 4: Helen Vongl de Swiderska graduated as an advanced standing student from New York College of Dentistry, New York (Today NYU College of Dentistry). Originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, she spent one year in the program to obtain her D.D.S. degree. She returned to Europe after graduation. 1874: Fanny A. Rambarger became the second American woman to earn the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1874, when she graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery. She worked in Philadelphia and limited her practice to women and children only. 1881: Margaret Caro became the first woman to be listed on the Dentists' Register of New Zealand. 1886: Margarita Chorné y Salazar became the first female dentist in Mexico. 1887: Hedvig Eleonora Ståhlberg became the first female dentist in Finland. 1888: Nicoline Møller became the first female dentist in Denmark. 1890: Ida Rollins became the first African-American woman to earn a dental degree in the United States, which she earned from the University of Michigan. 1892: The Women's Dental Association of the U.S. was founded in 1892 by Mary Stillwell-Kuesel with 12 charter members. 1893: Caroline Louise Josephine Wells became the first woman to graduate from the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario, which made her the first Canadian woman to graduate from any dental school. 1895: Lilian Lindsay became the first licensed female dentist in Britain. 1895: Anna Robina (Robbi) Karvonen became the first female dentist to study and earn a dental degree in Finland, when she took her exam in 1895. 1898: Emma Gaudreau Casgrain became the first licensed female dentist in Canada.

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