Women Workers in Seven Professions / A Survey of Their Economic Conditions and Prospects

by Unknown

It is not sufficiently well-known that dental surgery as a profession, opens up a practically unexplored and lucrative work for women.

The training in the British Isles can be carried out in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Dublin, each of these cities granting their Licentiate of Dental Surgery. In London, the National Dental Hospital, and the London School of Medicine for Women (Royal Free Hospital) have special facilities for women students, including special bursaries and scholarships, while dental and medical studies can be carried on concurrently. The course of study includes the passing of a Professional Preliminary Examination or Matriculation, followed by two years' mechanical work, and two years' hospital practice. The student can be articled to a qualified dental practitioner for mechanics, or can obtain tuition at the Dental Hospital. This branch includes the preparation of models, vulcanite and metal dentures, crowns, and bridges, etc.

The Dental Hospital course for two years includes lectures on Physics and Chemistry, Dental Anatomy and Surgery, Metallurgy and Materia Medica. At the same time practical work is done—extractions, fillings, crowns, bridges, dentures, and the regulation of children's teeth. At the medical school and hospital, lectures on Anatomy, Physiology, Surgery, and Medicine must be attended, and dissections on the human body, and clinics in the ward must be completed. At the end of each year examinations in the subjects are taken, the whole course covering a minimum time of four years. The qualification of the Licentiate of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England is now open to women. The composite fee for training extending over four years, is about £200, but an additional sum of at least £100 is required for incidental expenses. Should the woman student desire to confine herself to dental mechanics this would materially lessen the expense. The average wage for a good male mechanic is £120 per annum. Hospitals can be joined at the age of nineteen, and it is advisable to begin study soon after leaving school or college.

If it is possible, a woman should obtain a medical qualification as well as the L.D.S. Much of the work can be taken at the same time as the dental course. A medical degree enlarges a dentist's sphere of usefulness and interest and adds to her locus standi: on the other hand, it necessitates two or three years' extra study, and the fees are increased by several hundred pounds.

The woman dentist will probably find it necessary to start practice on her own account as soon as she is qualified, as it is not likely she will be able to obtain an assistantship with men practitioners, but there are an increasing number of posts open to women, such as dental surgeon to school clinics or to factories. These posts offer the same salaries to men and women. Smaller part-time appointments, with an honorarium attached, can be obtained, and are especially useful to the newly qualified practitioner who is building up a practice.

It is essential for the woman who intends to succeed in this profession to have excellent physical and mental health, though great muscular strength is not necessary. During student life and in practice, every care should be taken of the general health—exercise in the open air being especially necessary, though this should not be too energetic in character. It is a well-known fact that male dentists doing careful and conscientious work, cannot, as a rule, stand the strain for many hours daily after they have reached middle age, and the intending student should consider this point.

The prolonged hours of standing in a cramped position, the confined space, the exactitude required for minute and painful operations, are some of the causes of this overstrain. Great self-control and will power must be exercised as the patients, especially children, are frequently nervous, and confidence must be imparted to them if the work is to be well done.

The British Dental Association and the Odontological Society are both open to women, and male practitioners have always displayed the utmost courtesy though some prejudice must be expected. The general public apparently welcome the advent of women dentists as the few qualified women in London and the Provinces have excellent practices. It is curious, however, to note that few Englishwomen have taken up the profession, there being about twelve practising in the United Kingdom, though in Germany, Russia, and the United States there are great numbers of women practitioners.

With regard to restrictions from which women at present suffer, one dental hospital only is open to women in London, and, until recently, no posts could be obtained. But as more women qualify, these disadvantages will probably be removed. It is also extremely difficult to obtain mechanical work in private work-rooms. Women should bear in mind that they require exactly the same facilities for study as men, and try to get admittance to all hospitals and posts on an equal basis—i.e., the salary should be equal for equal work, and a smaller fee should not be accepted.

In deciding whether a practice should be started in London or a provincial town, the question of capital must be carefully considered, as it is improbable that the expenses will be met during the first year of practice. The upkeep necessarily varies with the locality chosen, and a minimum capital of £150 is desirable.