We are discussing some of the most famous female dentists from past and present. Continuing with the article, let’s have a look at the next renowned female dentist.

Lilian Lindsay

Lilian Lindsay, CBE, FSA (24 July 1871 – 31 January 1960) was a dentist, dental historian, librarian and author. She was the first qualified woman dentist in Britain and became the first female president of the British Dental Association.

She is famous for not only being the first female dentist of Britain but also being one of the pioneers in promoting dentistry among the women in Britain.

Lindsay was able to secure a three-year apprenticeship in dentistry through a family friend but did not feel this was enough and sought to enroll in dental school.

She passed preliminary examinations, and in 1892 she applied for entry to the National Dental Hospital in Great Portland Street.

The dean, Henry Weiss, refused to admit her because she was a woman; he was so concerned that she would distract the male students that he interviewed her on the pavement outside the school. 

He also advised her not to apply to the Dental Hospital of London as the Royal College of Surgeons of England did not allow women to sit their examinations at that time.

Then she applied to Edinburgh Dental Hospital and School, and she was accepted there by the dean W. Bowman Macleod. Even later she met with the disapproval of some of the Edinburgh staff; Sir Henry Littlejohn remarked “I am afraid, madam, you are taking the bread out of some poor fellow’s mouth.

She graduated with LDS (Hons), RCS Ed. in 1895, the first woman to qualify as a dentist in the United Kingdom (others had previously traveled abroad to America amongst other countries to train). She subsequently joined the British Dental Association in November 1895, the first woman to become a member.

She eventually rose up the ladder to be the first female president of British Dental Association.

An English Heritage blue plaque commemorating Lindsay was placed at 3 Hungerford Road, Holloway, London, where Lindsay had lived for the first twenty years of her life in 2013. It was at this address that Lindsay first decided to become a dentist. The plaque was unveiled by Dame Margaret Seward, the former President of the General Dental Council and Chief Dental Officer and Lindsay’s niece, Margaret Murray.

Rosalie Fougelberg

Rosalie Ingeborg Karolina Fougelberg (29 December 1841 – 8 May 1911) is known as Sweden’s first female dentist after the profession was opened to both genders.

It was that era in Sweden when Dentistry as a profession was not open for women. After a lot of lobby and movement, it was legally opened for Women in 1861.

However, the entry of Rosalie Fougelberg into dentistry was not very smooth. Even after women were legally allowed into dentistry, there still was much internal opposition to this. Fougelberg tried twice to get her dentist’s certificate; the second time, she was approved by the medical examiners but not by the dentistry representative. During her third try in 1866, the examination was supervised by the press. She was still turned down by the Collegium Medicum. However, by now there was a significant publicity of this issue (as the examination was covered by press where Rosalie had cleared emphatically). This time the Sweden  Monarch intervened and Rosalie Fougelberg was given a royal dispensation by the monarch, Charles XV of Sweden.

Thus, Rosalie Fougelberg was the first woman dentist since the profession was opened for women in Sweden. Soon she rose to the top of her dental career and Fougelberg was the personal dentist of the Queen, Louise of the Netherlands from 1867 to 1871.

When talking about Rosalie Fougelberg, it is essential to mention about Amalia Assur. 

Amalia Assur was practicing dentistry even before Rosalie Fougelberg. So in many ways, she was the first Female dentist in Sweden. She was from a family of dentists. Both her father and brother were dentists.

She was active in dentistry early on, as the assistant of her father. As an assistant dentist, her position was an informal one, and Assur was eventually reported to the authorities for practicing without a license. In 1852, she was given special dispensation from the Royal Board of Health to practice independently as a dentist.

Many people add that the permission was a dispensation because the profession of dentistry was formally barred for women and she was, therefore, a special exception rather than a pioneer for other women, as the profession was still prohibited for women.

However, as mentioned before in this post, we are no one to judge. For us, it is evident that both the dentists did their part in spreading dentistry as a profession among women.

To conclude the article:

In every society of every country, women are the pillar of the family. In the western world and now in other parts of the world too, more and more women are getting into dentistry as a profession. In the end its the gain for the society and dentistry itself.

Hope you liked this post. If you did, then do share it to spread the message of Women Power in Dentistry.

If you want to read more about Women Power in Dentistry in the modern world, then you would love reading these ongoing series of articles where we are covering women dentists from different countries who are making a mark in the profession.

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https://dentalorg.com/french-dental-student-wins-miss-universe-title-all-smiles.html

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