Celebrating Women in Dentistry
March is Women’s History Month, which means it is an important time to highlight and celebrate women who have made a large impact on dentistry.
As we celebrate Women’s History Month in March, we document and highlight women’s achievements throughout history. As an old profession, dentistry has been supplemented greatly by the achievements of many women, and it would be remiss to underestimate the importance of women in this industry. From inventions, to techniques, to technology, women have made their mark on the history of dentistry. Here are just a few notable women who have made a big impact on dentistry.
Photo courtesy of Candybox Images / stock.adobe.com.
Dr Emeline Roberts Jones
Considered the first practicing woman dentist in the United States, Emeline Roberts Jones practiced dentistry in the late 1800s. What began as a tentative partnership with her hesitant husband, soon became a prolific career for Dr Jones who, after the death of her husband in 1864, began traveling around Rhode Island and Connecticut to do mobile dentistry. In 1876, Jones moved to New Haven and opened her own practice. After years of practicing in New Haven, Jones retired in 1915 just a year before she would pass away in 1916. She has since been inducted honorarily into a variety of dental associations and has made her mark in the world of dentistry.
Photo courtesy of Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame.
Dr Ida Gray Nelson Rollins
Often considered the first Black woman dentist in the United States, Dr Ida Gray Nelson Rollins was born in 1867, where she was shortly after orphaned and sent to live with her aunt in Cincinnati, Ohio. There, while still in high school, Dr Rollins began to work at the dental offices of Jonathan Taft. Dr Taft was a known advocate for women in dentistry, and he urged Dr Rollins to apply for the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. Dr Rollins did so and graduated in 1890, 1 of 3 women who graduated those years. She opened her own practice, eventually relocating Chicago where she served patients of every race and creed. She became Vice President of the Professional Women’s Club of Chicago and a member of the Phyllis Wheatley Club. The Phyllis Wheatley Club ran and maintained the only Black women’s shelter in Chicago. Dr Rollins passed away in 1953, and she is now honored with an annual award at the School of Dentistry at the University of Michigan.
Photo courtesy of the Oregon Health and Science University
Dr Lucy Hobbs Taylor
Dr Lucy Hobbs Taylor is known as the first woman to receive her doctorates in dentistry. After being rejected from medical school based on her gender, Dr Hobbs Taylor began to study privately under the dean of the Ohio College of Dental Surgery. She then went on to become an apprentice, and eventually was able to be accepted as a student in 1865. Dr Hobbs Taylor treated patients until her death in 1910. She now has an annual award named after her to honor women in dentistry every year.
Photo courtesy of Britannica
Dr Leonie Von Zesch
Dr Leonie Von Zesch was a women dentist who was well known for her traveling care. Dr Von Zesch spent much of her time traveling the United States to bring dental care to various populations at the time. After the San Francisco earthquake in 1906, Dr Von Zesch did away with a permanent office and took up as a dentist in the United States Army for those who had suffered during this natural disaster. She was the first paid woman dentist in the U.S. Army. Eventually, Dr Von Zesch moved up to Alaska, where she became the first woman dentist in the state. She even took up dog sledding for transportation in the wintry Alaskan tundra. Dr Von Zesch eventually moved back down south in California, where she spent her later years as the prison dentist for the California Institute for Women at Tehachapi.
Photo courtesy of the Sinedcuse Museum
Jeanne Sinkford, DDS, MS, PhD
Dr Jeanne Sinkford is known for her role as the first women dean of any dental school. Dr Sinkford enrolled at Howard University at just 16 and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with degrees in psychology and chemistry. Encouraged by her family dentist, Dr Sinkford began her profession in dentistry. She earned her PhD in physiology at Northwestern University, and went on to serve positions on many councils and a variety of panels. Dr Sinkford became Chair of the Department of Prosthodontics at Howard University wherein she was eventually promoted to professor and associate dean. In 1975, Dr Sinkford was appointed Dean of Howard University’s College of Dentistry where she served in this role until 1991. She established Howard’s Center for Equity and Diversity in 1988, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the ADA in 2015.
