46. An Iowa dentist demonstrating his skill, c. 1895, courtesy of the State Historic Society, Iowa City

In 1850, there were just ten dentists in the state of Iowa. By 1870, the year dental education began at the University, this number had increased to 225. The first dental lectures were given to medical students, reflecting the fact that dentistry was not yet acknowledged as a separate branch of health care. After a series of legislative and financial battles, Iowa dentists convinced the Board of Regents of the need for separation, and the University Dental Department was founded in 1882.

47. First dental building, c. 1895, courtesy of
the University of Iowa College of Dentistry

48. Second dental building, c. 1918, courtesy of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry

The first dental faculty members were University professors from other departments and dentists with private practices. They were not paid for their work, and had to borrow barber chairs for clinical training. The Dental Department had no entrance requirements. Most students attended classes for two academic years of five months each, but only one year was necessary for those who had already been dentists for at least five years. This was in keeping with other American dental schools of the time.

In 1900, the Dental Department was reorganized as the College of Dentistry. By this time, one year of high school was required for admission, and the program length had increased to three academic years of nine months of clinical and course work. In 1936, one year of collegiate liberal arts studies was required for admission, and a six-year program was initiated in which students received a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree after five years, and a Doctor of Dental Science (DDS) degree after six. Because of the demand for medical personnel during World War II, the College of Dentistry began an accelerated program in 1942. A new class was enrolled every nine months and would complete the entire schedule of courses in less than three years. By war's end, nine of the College's twenty-four faculty members were serving in the armed forces.

49. Dr. Breene's Dental office, c. 1907, courtesy of the University of Iowa Photographic Service

In 1942, the Council on Dental Education made an accreditation visit to the College. The resulting report, issued in 1944, rated the faculty as excellent, but found the College as a whole firmly in the second rank, largely because dental students lacked sufficient training in the basic sciences, such as anatomy and physiology, which support dentistry. These findings were similar to those of William Gies, who visited the College in 1922 as part of a study of North American dental education. While both reports were discouraging, they provided the initiative for transitions during the 1950s and 1960s which brought the College into the first rank of dental schools.

50. Sophomore dental laboratory, Dental building (now Trowbidge Hall), c. 1949,
courtesy of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry

Dentistry began as the search for the causes of, and relief from, the intense, throbbing pain of toothaches. Tooth decay has long been known as the immediate cause of much tooth pain, but what causes tooth decay? Until the middle of the eighteenth century, people from Europe to India to the Americas thought that tooth-eating worms were to blame. These "toothworms" may actually have been maggots that slipped into a person's mouth when he or she consumed rotten food.

51.Sculpture by an artist in southern
France, circa 1780, shown actual size.
From the collection of the Deutsches
Medizinhistorisches Museum, Ingolstadt,
Germany. Photo by W. O. Funk, Cologne.

Other centuries-old ideas about the causes of toothache seem quite modern. For example, some Roman physicians believed tooth decay was caused by eating a kind of candy made from poppy seeds and honey. The tenth century Arab physician Abul Kasim claimed that food residues were a major cause of gum disease.

IMAGE OF ABUL KASIM

In 1890, American dentist Willoughby D. Miller published Micro-organisms of the Human Mouth, which explained a key component of tooth decay. Bacteria which are normally present in the mouth act on carbohydrates in food residues and produce acids. These acids eat away the hard, protective tooth enamel, exposing softer tissue underneath. The bacteria then begin to destroy this soft tissue, the dentine. These findings led to a massive public campaign to encourage effective oral hygiene. Virtually all subsequent work in preventing tooth decay has been based on Miller's studies.

IMAGE OF MILLER

Jessie Ritchey, the first female graduate of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, earned her license in 1887. Dr. Ritchey was the valedictorian of her 24-member class, and was the first woman to serve on The University of Iowa dental faculty, during the 1889-90 academic year.

In the early years of the Iowa Dental Department (as it was formerly known), female dental students were not uncommon. Twenty-eight women graduated from the Department between 1887 and 1906. The 1882 University Catalog stated, "Students of both sexes are admitted on equal terms, and... afforded, in all respects, the same facilities for acquiring a thorough dental education."

Dr. Ritchey married another dental faculty member, William H. DeFord. The couple moved to Des Moines, where they limited their practice to tooth extraction. The number of female dental students gradually declined, and only three women graduated between 1927 and 1944.

52. Jessie Ritchey, courtesy of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry

Gift of The University of Iowa Archives