Women's influence in Brazilian dentistry
As in other labor markets, women in dentistry are also conquering - with much study, a sense of entrepreneurship and dedication - their place in what was recently a mostly male field.
The pioneers of the so-called dental medicine started out as assistants and faced many prejudices and machismo to become protagonists of their own careers.
Today's dental surgeons are also strong and determined women. And, if they do not encounter the same resistance as their predecessors to attend graduation, they still need to impose their competence to achieve salary gains equal to those of their male colleagues and overcome gender issues that interfere in the office's day-to-day.
In our article today, we will talk about women in dentistry, revealing the history of female participation in what is one of the most important areas of the health market. We hope to inspire you with good reasons for you to realize the dream of opening your own dental clinic and to undertake, like the “dental” doctors of the past and the surgeons of the present.
WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF WOMEN IN DENTISTRY?
Emeline Roberts Jones is considered America's first dentist, having started in the profession in 1854, at the age of 17, after her marriage to Dr. Daniel Albion Jones, in Connecticut. However, it was only after 34 years of practice that she was recognized as a member of the Connecticut State Dental Society in 1912.
Another pioneer in dentistry was Lucy Beaman Hobbs, a contemporary of Emeline, but a New York resident. She graduated with a schoolmaster at the age of 16 and tried unsuccessfully for a place at the newly created Ohio College of Dental Surgery (OCDS). At the time, women were not admitted as students.
Without giving up on the dream, Lucy asks several dentists in the Cincinnati region for employment and manages to be hired as a private student by the newly formed Dr. Samuel Wardle. In 1861, she opened her own practice.
The first Brazilian to graduate in dentistry was Antonia d’Ávila, who took the course at the College of Pennsylvania, in the United States.
Isabella Von Sydow is the first woman to graduate in dentistry in Brazil, in 1899, composing the team of four professionals trained by the School of Dentistry of the Faculty of Medicine of Rio de Janeiro - the other three were men, members of the first class of the school .
WHO ARE THE WOMEN OF BRAZILIAN DENTISTRY TODAY?
Machismo made it difficult for women to enter dentistry courses, but it could not prevent them from following their own path. Over the centuries they opened the doors of dental schools and became the majority.
A study on the profile of Brazilian dental surgeons, developed by the Faculty of Dentistry of São Paulo, shows that in the 1960s, dentists were mostly male, representing 90% of professionals registered with the Federal Council of Dentistry (CFO).
After 40 years, dentists became the majority, representing 56.3% of professionals with an active record in 2008, following the general rise of women to higher education, a process that began in the 1980s.
Currently they maintain their domain: there are 163,866 women with active registration in the CFO, against 114,838 men, according to data from 2016.
And they are very young - most professionals are between 26 and 35 years old. Only in the age group above 56 years do men make up the majority of trained professionals.
DENTAL SURGEONS STUDY MORE THAN MEN
Like the other entrepreneurs - 36.2% of women who undertake have completed higher education, against 23.9% of men, according to a SEBRAE study - women in dentistry also study more, with the majority of professionals having specialties at the CFO.
Among the mainly female specialties are:
- pediatric dentistry: 85% of registered professionals are women;
- collective health: 63% of female specialists;
- dentistry: 62% female domain;
- endodontics: 57% are women.
They are also the majority, since 2003, with master's and doctoral degrees, representing 58% of the total degree holders in 2007.
DENTISTS STILL BREAKING BARRIERS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
More than 100 years after the first female diploma in dentistry in Brazil, dentists are still pioneering. Débora Ayala Walverde is the first woman in the world to receive the 1st place award from the European Academy of Aesthetic Dentistry.
The Brazilian received the award in 2004, due to research in the area of gingival peeling, which resulted in the development of a technique for removing stains from melanin in the gums.
WHAT ARE WOMEN'S CHALLENGES IN DENTISTRY?
Dental professionals face the same gender dilemmas as women in other areas.
Even though they have overcome the difficulties of access to knowledge faced by their predecessors, dentists today still need to fight for the equalization of positions and salaries with their male colleagues.
Even though they have the same level of education and responsibility as men, women earn, on average, 34% less than they do.
Sexist practices also expose dentists. Like most women, they also have to deal with harassment from colleagues and clients, sometimes restricting late office hours in their offices for security reasons.
HOW CAN WOMEN FOLLOW OPENING THE WAY IN DENTISTRY?
Opening your own office is an alternative to gain more autonomy and manage your own career. The potential and strength of women in dentistry comes from the very beginning of practice. The pioneers opened the first doors and it's up to you to continue advancing and occupying the spaces you want to be a successful dentist.
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Source: Sorridents, Simples como Sorrir. Available at: https://sorridents.com.br/business/mulheres-na-odontologia/. Access on: 03/17/2021.