Emmeline Roberts Jones (First Woman to Practice Dentistry in the USA)

Emeline Roberts Jones was the first woman to practice dentistry in the United States. Born in 1838, Jones married a dentist, Dr. Daniel Jones, and clandestinely trained herself to fill and extract teeth. Her husband, once resistant to teaching her, allowed her to practice with him at his office in Danielsonville, Connecticut in 1855. In 1859, she became his partner and was reputed to be a skilled dentist.

After her husband’s death, she continued to practice dentistry, often traveling with a portable dentist’s chair throughout Connecticut and Rhode Island to support her family. She maintained a practice in New Haven, Connecticut from 1876 until her retirement in 1915.