Dentistry

History of Dentistry: People
There are several notable men and women in the History of Dentistry. Whether being the first African American male and female in the field of dentist, or The first woman in the United States to practice Dentistry they have made their great marks in history. Also a dentist who is the founder of the field dental hygiene and interesting topic that explains where a specialty in the field of dentistry derived from. These are all great marks in history that deserve recognition. The lives of these historical people will be discussed further in this research. Who was the first African American woman to become a dentist? According to the website Blackpast.org Ida Gray Nelson was the first African American woman to become
That would be Robert Tanner Freeman the first professionally trained African American dentist in the United States. Freeman was born in the year of 1846 in Washington, DC. He was the son of former slaves from North Carolina. As a child he became friends with a local white dentist in the District of Columbia by the name of Henry Bliss Noble. Freeman began working as an apprentice to Dr. Noble on through his young adulthood. The encouragement from Dr. Noble lead him to apply to a couple of dental colleges. He was rejected twice by two different medical schools. He was not discouraged to give up at that point. He kept at it with the continued encouragement from his friend Dr. Noble who had connects at Harvard Medical School, where Freeman applied. Although he was rejected at first he was later accepted into the Harvard Medical School. The reason for his acceptance was the dean, Nathan Colley Keep petitioning to end the school’s historical exclusion of African Americans and other racial minorities. Freeman was the age of 21 at this time. In the year of 1867 He and another African American man George Franklin Grant became the first African Americans to enter Harvard Dental School, making these men the first African American dentists in the United States upon their graduation in 1869. After graduating her returned to his home town and opened his own private practice and welcoming youth in his community to pursue their dreams in the medical profession. Unfortunately, his life was cut short four years after obtaining his degree from a water-borne disease in 1873. Dr. Freeman’s legacy lives on far beyond his short lived life. The founded all African-American dental group of 1913 honored Freeman, and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Association adopted the mission of Dr. Freeman to extend dental treatment and education to the impoverished, the disabled, and people of color as well as those who may not