History
The seeds of the organization extend back to 1900. In that year, approximately 200 professionals gathered together to form Washington, D.C.'s Washington Society of Colored Dentists, which was retitled in 1907 to the Robert T. Freeman Dental Society. On May 1, 1901, a National Association of Colored Dentists was founded by dentist David A. Ferguson at Howard University College of Dentistry, but it failed to take hold, ceasing meetings after 1906. Since black dentists were still denied membership in such organizations as the American Dental Association, [1] and since dentists felt sidelined in the African-American National Medical Association (NMA), [2] Ferguson tried again in 1913, forming with a total of 29 black dentists the Tri-State Dental Association. The rapid expansion of this association required its renaming in 1918, when it became the Interstate Dental Association with members representing 14 states. The organization continued to expand, including a 1928 affiliation with the recently formed Commonwealth Dental Society of New Jersey. At a meeting of the Commonwealth Dental Society of New Jersey in Bordentown in 1932, a national organization was proposed, and the Interstate Dental Association became the National Dental Association. In 1940, the NDA, which had formerly been associated with the NMA, went fully independent. [2] In 1941, it issued a journal, The Bulletin, [2] which was created and established by former president Dr. Stephen J. Lewis. [3]
During the Civil Rights Movement, the NDA was active in encouraging reform, demanding that dental schools and professional organizations stop discrimination. [4] In 1965, the American Dental Association changed its policies to urge the cessation of discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity or creed among its member groups and affiliates. [4]
Hazel J. Harper became the first female president of the NDA in 1997. [5] [6]
The NDA has grown beyond the national borders of the United States, adding members in Canada and the Caribbean. In 2009, it was working to expand into Africa and Saudi Arabia.
Louis Wade Sullivan is an active health policy leader, minority health advocate, author, physician, and educator. He served as the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services during President George H. W. Bush's Administration and was Founding Dean of the Morehouse School of Medicine.
The American Dental Association (ADA) is an American professional association established in 1859 which has more than 161,000 members. Based in the American Dental Association Building in the Near North Side of Chicago, the ADA is the world's largest and oldest national dental association. The organization lobbies on behalf of the American dental profession and provides dental accredation.
The National Medical Association (NMA) is the largest and oldest organization representing African American physicians and their patients in the United States. As a 501(c)(3) national professional and scientific organization, the NMA represents the interests of over 30,000 African American physicians and their patients, with nearly 112 affiliated societies throughout the nation and U.S. territories. Through its membership, professional growth, community health education, advocacy, research, and collaborations with public and private organizations, the organization is dedicated to enhancing the quality of health among minorities and underprivileged people. Throughout its history, the NMA has primarily focused on health issues related to African Americans and medically underserved populations. However, its principles, goals, initiatives, and philosophy encompass all ethnic groups
Conceived in no spirit of racial exclusiveness, fostering no ethnic antagonism, but born of the exigencies of the American environment, the National Medical Association has for its object the banding together for mutual cooperation and helpfulness, the men and women of African descent who are legally and honorably engaged in the practice of the cognate professions of medicine, surgery, pharmacy and dentistry.
— C.V. Roman, M.D. NMA Founding Member and First Editor of the Journal of the National Medical Association (NMA) 1908
The British Dental Association (BDA) is a registered trade union for dentists in the United Kingdom.
The Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) is the dental school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to the DMD degree, HSDM offers specialty training programs, advanced training programs, and a PhD program through the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The program considers dentistry a specialty of medicine. Therefore, all students at HSDM experience dual citizenship between Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Harvard Medical School. Today, HSDM is the smallest school at Harvard University with a total student body of 280.
Chapin Aaron HarrisA.M., MD, D.D.S. was an American physician and dentist and dentistry school founder.
The California Dental Association (CDA) is a nonprofit, professional organization representing organized dentistry in California. Founded in 1870, CDA’s membership currently consists of 27,000 dentists in 32 local dental societies throughout the state of California, making it the largest constituent of the American Dental Association.
The American Society of Dental Surgeons (ASDS) was the first national dental organization formed in the United States of America. The formation of the ASDS was preceded by the formation of the Society of Dental Surgeons of the City and State of New York when fifteen dentists came together in New York City on December 3, 1834. Six years later, at a meeting at the home of Solyman Brown B.A., M.A., M.D., D.D.S. at 17 Park Place in New York City, on August 10, 1840, Chapin A. Harris in a motion that "resolved that a National Society be formed." was instrumental in its creation.
The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) is a non-profit organization that works to further the education of dental professionals and the advancement of academic dental programs in Canada and the United States. Founded in 1923 as the American Association of Dental Schools, ADEA is based in Washington, D.C.
Robert Tanner Freeman was an American dentist. As one of the first six students to attend the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, he became the first African American to graduate with a dental degree in the United States on March 10, 1869. He subsequently practiced dentistry in Washington, D.C.
The American Dental Society of Anesthesiology (ADSA) is an American professional association established in 1953 and based in Chicago.
There is a long history of women in dentistry in the United States.
There is a long history of women in dentistry. Women are depicted as assistant dentists in the middle ages. Prior to the 19th century, dentistry was largely not yet a clearly defined and regulated profession with formal educational requirements. Individual female dentists are known from the 18th century. When the profession was regulated in the 19th century, it took a while before women achieved the formal education and permission to engage in dentistry.
The Uganda Dental Association (UDA) is a registered non-governmental organization that brings together all the qualified dental surgeons retired or practicing in Uganda. Headquartered in Uganda's capital city Kampala, the UDA serves its members and the public by managing key oral health issues on their behalf and by coordinating dental health awareness programs across the nation.
Dr. Harry Theodore Penn was a noted dentist and civic activist in Roanoke, Virginia.
The American Association of Public Health Dentistry (AAPHD), founded in 1937, focuses upon addressing the public health challenges to oral health at the population level. Its open membership for everyone who seeks improvement in oral health of the general public. supports developing and supporting effective programs of oral health promotion and disease prevention. It is headquartered in Springfield, Illinois.
Charles Edwin Bentley (1859–1929) was an American dentist. In Chicago, he was the founder of what grew to be the largest local dental society in the world in the early 20th century. As an African American civil rights activist, he was a founder of the Niagara Movement and leader in the Chicago branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Dolores Mercedes Franklin is an American dentist, health policy advocate, and author. She was the first African American woman to graduate from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine in 1974.
Clemens Vincent Rault was a rear admiral in the United States Navy and dean of the Georgetown University School of Dentistry. He served as the Chief of the United States Navy Dental Corps twice, from 1932 to 1933 and again from 1948 to 1950.
John Alexander Somerville, D.D.S. was an African American Civil rights activist, dentist, and entrepreneur. A well-known community figure in Los Angeles, Somerville was an accomplished dentist who went on to co-found the Los Angeles branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He is most well known for building Hotel Somerville, now known as Dunbar Hotel.
