Dentists This excerpt from the book "Uppers and Downers" explains a little about the history of Dentistry in Ontario, Canada. U.S. visitors to this site wishing to give support to U.S. Denturists can contact this site: www.usdenturist.com.

As I reflect on the past twenty years, I remember them as years of passionate and total involvement in the cause of Denturism. My children grew up in this period. I acquired many acquaintances who were involved in fighting the "good fight". They were men of character and resolve, our "Fathers of Confederation," a kind who will not be seen again within the profession of Denturism. The roll call included men like Leo Roy, Horset Fiege, Morris Gross, Clive Mussel, Brian Monk, Joe Ryan, Brian Bridges, Frank Broadhead, Art Hamm, Jim McGuire, Jurven Von Fielitz, Ben Sweet and many others. These were the true patriots who created a united front against Dentistry, the antagonist, the exploiter, the enemy.

On researching this book, obviously, the history of Dentistry was a focal point of my interest. The more I read about Dentistry's beginnings the more it seems to parallel ours, with one exception. We were far more organized and better trained.

Anybody with a "glib" tongue and a pair of pliers and a yen to travel was a tooth extractor. Another attribute for this blossoming trade was being a watchmaker, blacksmith or gunsmith. These were the men who fashioned the dentures of the day. This was all taking place in the mid eighteen hundreds. At this time there were no seats of learning for Dentistry in Canada. The medical Doctors were the closest things to trained personnel for tooth extractions.

"The first school for Dentistry was set up in Baltimore USA. This was the outcome of the refusal of the medical schools to teach Dentistry as a separate course. I feel sure the reasoning for this was the fact that the image of what was to be called Dentistry left a lot to be desired. Some of those who plied their art at this time were nothing more than charlatans, or traveling side show artists.** A dentist was hardly considered a gentleman in 1900. There was no dental register until 1922, and any person could call himself a dentist until that date."

One of these men was Painless Parker. His real name was Edgar Randolph Parker. It was the law in those days that a Dentist must practice under his own name so Mr. Parker had his name changed legally to "Painless Parker".* This is one of the parallels I referred to earlier. There was a Denturist who had his clinic on Main Street in Hamilton, Ontario. At that time Denturists could not advertise their geographic location so this enterprising person had his name changed to "Main".

* History of Dentures ** Surgeon's Journey. J. Abraham MD

From the advent of Denturism in 1971 it took just three years before legislation was enacted to allow Denturists to practice their skills legally. The Ontario Dental Association came into being July 2, 1867. At their first meeting held in Toronto, only nine men were in attendance. They had many problems trying to get a "handle" on the many transient Dentists whose qualifications varied. Legislation was proposed that would outline the requirement for registration under the Act. The main concern was the "Grandfather Clause," recognition without examination. It was finally agreed upon that only Dentists who had been constantly engaged in an office practice over a five year period would come under the Grandfather clause. The Bill was passed, March 1868. This, by the way, was the first Dental Act anywhere in the world. Dentistry had actually put the cart before the horse. They had formed a college, legalized Dentistry, without even having a facility to teach Dentistry. There was no such person as a "Graduate Dentist".

There was another parallel with Denturism. Denturists were legalized in 1974 and it wasn't until 1978 that a graduate Denture Therapist came on the scene. Dentistry had formed a college and were legalized. Now they had the daunting task of separating those who qualified under the Act from those who didn't. The college refused to recognize the "have nots". The "have nots" did not site idly by. They petitioned the legislators and were granted a license by decree. This arrangement continued over several decades.

Another parallel was that Denturists had two rival associations, the Denturist Society of Ontario and the Ontario Denture Therapists Association. Dentistry had the Ontario Society of Dentists and the Ontario Dental Association. One was called a "Society", the other an "Association" as were the two Denturist organizations which was not earth shattering but coincidental.

Most Denturists who opened up an illegal practice in 1971 were Registered Dental Technicians who had trained over a five-year apprenticeship and had registration certificates. Yet, the now powerful Dental consortium with their "Painless Parkers" behind them geared up their powerful lobby to challenge the competence of these upstart Dental Technicians. This challenge was to last for twenty years while Dentistry jealously guarded every aspect of their profession.

Prosthetic Dentistry's hey day was from the 1900's to 1950's. That was the era of the Dentists who actually knew how to make dentures. Once this group died off, the next generations of Dentists were more interested in the sciences and lacked the dexterity, the talent, and the interest for a vocation that intrinsically was not theirs.

Believe it or not, Denturist clinics in Ontario were raided by the police. Read about it here.

Read more articles on Denturism in Ontario.