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.
In the 18th century dentistry was not yet a regulated and clearly defined profession, and could be performed by people of all professions, such as barbers and beauticians. The informality of the profession, where no formal education (unavailable to women) was not yet required, meant that women dentists did exist during the 18th century.
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