"Dr. Lucy Made History as First Female Dentist"

A Moment in Time

Kansas Historical Society

March 1997

By Diane Good

A monthly series from the Kansas Historical Society

A childhood dream became a dramatic reality for Lucy Hobbs Taylor. Born in 1833, young Lucy set her sights on becoming a doctor. Medical schools at the time would not allow women to enroll. A determined Lucy soon turned her ambitions towards dentistry. Lucy or "Dr. Lucy" as she was referred to by her patients, was the first woman dentist to practice in Kansas.

Finding a dentist in Ohio to train her, Lucy learned the skills of pulling teeth and making dentures. When she tried to enter a dental school, she was once again refused admittance because she was a woman.

Feeling confident with her dental skills, Taylor moved to Iowa and worked with other dentists. The doctors liked her work so much that they pursuaded the American Dentists Association to allow her and other women to attend dental school.

Dr. Lucy Hobbs Taylor graduated from the Ohio Dental College in Cincinnati as the world's first fully-trained woman dentist. After receiving her degree, she married a man from Chicago. In 1867 they moved to Lawrence, Kansas, where they both practiced dentistry for more than 40 years.