A BIT OF HISTORY ABOUT DENTAL TEAM MEMBERS

Ever wonder how long Dental Assistants and Dental Hygienists have been part of the dental team? 

The role of Dental Assistant dates to 1904 when Dr. C. N. Johnson was lecturing at the Chicago College of Dental Surgery on major factors of setting up an office.  He mentioned employing what he termed a Dental Assistant.
 

In 2013, Dr. Johnson published Success in Dental Practice in which he endorsed the broad scope of employing a Dental Assistant.  A quote from his book addresses this concept:  “The Assistant has taken from practitioners much of the detail and drudgery of his daily task and left him free to concentrate on the science and technical problems of his practice, and in this, she has added most materially to his efficiency and the output of his service.
 

The role of Dental Hygienist began in 1905 when Dr. A. C. Fones, Bridgeport, CT, trained his office assistant to do prophys for children, making her the first hygienist in the world.  In November 1913 Dr. Fones opened the Fones Clinic for Dental Hygienists in his garage.  Dental school deans and professors served free of charge to train the first class that produced 27 graduate Hygienists.  Today there are more than 120 schools in the U.S. for Dental Hygienists turning out about 2500 graduates per year.