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Celebrating a history of Resilience!

Saturday, October 1, 2022 | Posted in GEHA Connection Dental Network News

Celebrating a history of Resilience!

The history of the tradition of October as National Dental Hygiene Month is linked to Fones school of dental hygiene starting in 1913 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. At that time, Dr. Alfred Fones, and Irene Newman, the first dental hygienist, went house to house to teach people to care for their teeth. In 1918, Bridgeport, CT had the lowest death rate of any large city in the world during the influenza pandemic. (Alfred Fones, Irene Newman, and the Dental Hygiene Revolution – Bridgeport History Center (bportlibrary.org)

Over the past hundred years dental hygiene has grown from training programs and public health prevention projects. By October 2022, dental hygiene has grown to include prevention, public health, research, administration, education, and clinical practice to care for some of the most common conditions of the teeth and gums. Any oral care aisle at your local store will demonstrate that oral care has advanced from a hundred years ago, although the principle of caring for the mouth is the same.

 

SOURCE

(Alfred Fones, Irene Newman, and the Dental Hygiene Revolution – Bridgeport History Center (bportlibrary.org)

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