It is no secret that women have been breaking barriers in the business world for years. The list of female “firsts” is very long. For far too long, dentistry was an all-male profession like many others. In the 19th century, men like Doc Holliday became famous for their wild exploits as much as their lives as medical professionals. He won awards as a cosmetic dentist but is probably best known for his exploits as a gambler and gunfighter. Lucy Hobbs Taylor revolutionized the world of medicine but enjoys far less acclaim.
Lucy Hobbs Taylor
Lucy Hobbs Taylor was born in Constable, New York in 1833. She lived a fairly normal life. In the early 1850s, she became a schoolteacher in Michigan. In this way, a Cosmetic Dentist Chesterfield MO is close to this revolutionary woman. After ten years of teaching, she moved to Ohio. In Cincinnati, she was refused admission to dental schools because she was a woman. To combat this discrimination, she began studying privately with an Ohio College of Dental surgery professor. After years of private study, she began practicing on her own in 1861. She practiced in Cincinnati, then Bellevue, then Iowa. She lived in McGregor, Iowa for three years.
Finally, in 1865, she was granted admission to the Iowa State Dental Society. That same year, she attended the Ohio College of Dental Surgery, the same college that had denied her admission years earlier. In 1866, she earned a dentistry doctorate, making her the first U.S. woman to do so. After her practice as a cosmetic dentist ended, she began to advocate for greater women’s rights.
Her Legacy
Because of Lucy Hobbs Taylor, nearly one thousand women had become dentists by the year 1900. To this day, an award is given every year to recognize excellence and advancement of the role of women in dentistry. This called the Lucy Hobbs Taylor Award.
Leonie von Meusebach-Zesch
Born in 1882, she was one of the first female dentists in the United States. Unlike Hobbs Taylor who practiced in established cities, Meusebach-Zesch was known for practicing in pioneering towns. She practiced in California, Arizona, Alaska, and Texas at times when these were still fairly wild.
She was U.S. Army surgeon in California after the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. She worked to provide care to prisoners and soldiers during the great depression. In Arizona, she worked to help Hopi and Navajo patients. Because many patients could not travel to her, she drove her equipment around in a Model T. This was one of the first mobile dental clinics of the twentieth century. In Alaska, she used a dog sled instead of a Model T to continue her mobile clinics. She provided care to Inuit patients.
Improving your smile is easier than ever with the help of West Bloomfield Dentist at Dwoskin & Owens Cosmetic & Family Dentistry.
