Female Dentists (1889): Man Haters Without Maternal Instincts

Female Dentists (1889): Man Haters Without Maternal Instincts

Nineteenth Century American women who desired an advanced education (and to work as a professional) fought an uphill battle. As late as the final decade (1890s) cultural beliefs demanded “good” women made home a bit of heaven on earth, toiled only as a help-meet to her husband, and found all the joy and satisfaction there she could possibly need. Historical sources underscore this dated belief system, and set the stage for the challenges faced by my character Dr. Isabella Pattison, DDS, in Isabella’s Calico Groom (within Calico Ball: Timeless Western Collection).

Old West Dentistry

Old West Dentistry

Dentistry in the Old West was dangerous… if a body could find a dentist.

Doc Holliday (of Tombstone and O.K. Corral fame) was a dentist– and a gambler.

Clay Allison attacked his dentist with intent to rip out the doc’s molar–“tooth for tooth.”

Old West: Toothbrushes and Toothpaste

Old West: Toothbrushes and Toothpaste

Oral hygiene in the Old West? Absolutely! What did they use for toothpaste?–homemade or from the mercantile (or catalog)? This article is rich in historical resources about toothpowders, toothpaste, toothbrushes, when they were patented, and what they were made of.