Special thanks to Teeth4Tots Volunteer Jacqueline Manelis.
One of the most influential and impactful women in dentistry was Emeline Roberts Jones who was born in the year 1836 and died in 1916. Jones was the first practicing female dentist in the United States, overcoming adversity to practice her true passion and exercise her unique talents in the dental field.
At 18 years old, Emeline married to Daniel Jones, an accomplished dental professional who had already attended university and received his dental degree. Unfortunately, dental colleges did not admit women at the time as women were expected to reside within the private sphere in which their families were to remain as their main priorities. Although Emeline demonstrated a cunning skill for the art of dentistry, her husband believed that women were too clumsy for the distinguished operations; thus, he remained increasingly resistant towards her aspirations. However, that was merely a small hurdle for Emeline. In response to her growing interests in the field, she proceeded to study dental related courses such as anatomy on her own to familiarize herself with the sciences: utilizing self-enrichment to improve her talents. Next, Emeline gained crucial experience by extracting and filling hundreds of teeth for individuals residing within Northeastern Connecticut a few years before the Civil War; all of which was done in secret. As a final testament to her ambition, Emeline convinced her husband to allow her to practice with him after showing him multiple samples of her work stored inside of a jar. Hence, she officially began her work alongside her husband in 1855 and overcame the discrimination within the academic world in receiving her DDS in 1866.
Once her husband passed away, Emeline took over his practice whilst caring for their two children. While most women in her situation would have been unable to gain immediate stability after losing their primary provider, Emeline was able to rely on her hard work and occupation to independently provide for herself and for her family. Emeline was elected to the Connecticut State Dental Society in 1883 and served on the Woman’s Counsel of World’s Columbian Dental Conference in 1893, aiding hundreds of patients over the course of her 60 year profession.
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