The early association was not born rich.
It was not born powerful.
It was not born protected.
It was born because four women understood that if dental hygienists did not organize,
others would define the profession for them. Licensing followed. By 1921, California law covered dental hygiene practice, and the
first licensing exams took place in December of that year. That alone would have been a victory, but the fearless four did not stop.
By 1923, California hygienists were advocating for the creation of a national
association—the American Dental Hygienists’ Association. California would later be proud of its pivotal role in helping create ADHA. Think about the speed of it...
1917: Sadie leaves for Boston.
1918: California admits its first dental hygiene students.
1920: The state association is formed.
1921: Licensure begins.
1923: California hygienists are helping imagine a national organization.
This was not passive history. This was momentum. A new profession was learning to stand, then walk, then reach for the country. For a moment, the future must have looked wide open. But history rarely gives progress without a price, and Sadie Greenhood, the young woman who had carried the dream west, would not live long enough to see what her courage fully created...
GO TO NEXT: Chapter 5 - The Founding Mother Falls
It was not born powerful.
It was not born protected.
It was born because four women understood that if dental hygienists did not organize,
others would define the profession for them. Licensing followed. By 1921, California law covered dental hygiene practice, and the
first licensing exams took place in December of that year. That alone would have been a victory, but the fearless four did not stop.
By 1923, California hygienists were advocating for the creation of a national
association—the American Dental Hygienists’ Association. California would later be proud of its pivotal role in helping create ADHA. Think about the speed of it...
1917: Sadie leaves for Boston.
1918: California admits its first dental hygiene students.
1920: The state association is formed.
1921: Licensure begins.
1923: California hygienists are helping imagine a national organization.
This was not passive history. This was momentum. A new profession was learning to stand, then walk, then reach for the country. For a moment, the future must have looked wide open. But history rarely gives progress without a price, and Sadie Greenhood, the young woman who had carried the dream west, would not live long enough to see what her courage fully created...
GO TO NEXT: Chapter 5 - The Founding Mother Falls