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NATIONAL DENTAL ASSOCIATION, INC.

[[image - NDA seal]]

WOMEN'S AUXILIARY to the NATIONAL DENTAL ASSN.
DENTAL HYGIENISTS
DENTAL ASSISTANTS

San Francisco, Calif. - August 1-7, 1981

... at the inception of the N.D.A., it took men of courage, determination, dedication, and devotion to persevere. The National Dental Association was a response to many pressures felt by Negro dentists. Some of the pressures are common to all dentists, many of these pressures were peculiar only to Negro practitioners themselves....

Sporadic efforts directed at the organization of colored dentists took place prior to the turn of this century. The dental division of the North State Medical Society of North Carolina founded in 1887, takes claim to the distinction of being the first. The oldest organized, continuously existent colored society is the Robert T. Freeman Society of Washington, D.C. which was founded in 1900. At the time of its establishment, the impact of the X-ray machine (invented in 1895 by W. Conrad Roentgen) was being felt by both the medical and dental professions. The desire for information on this radical aid in diagnosis ran high. Further, improvements in the use of gold, various amalgams, cements, and other filling materials were constantly being made by both manufacturers and members of the profession. The fusing of porcelain, the casting of gold restorations and the use of newer local anesthetic agents were other subjects of intense interest to dentists. Dissemination of this information to ethical dentists was critically important. Society formation provided the method by which this education of the dentist was facilitated.

In 1905, through the leadership of Dr. D. A. Ferguson of Richmond, Virginia, an effort was made to organize a National Asociation of Negro Dentists. This primary attempt failed. Dr. Ferguson, with a small group of his loyal followers, finally organized the Tri-State Dental Association. This association consisted of men from Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland. The first meeting of the asociation was held at Buckroe Beach, Virginia, in July, 1913. Among the founding groups were D.A. Ferguson and J. M. G. Ramsey of Richmond, Virginia; A. O. Reid and Brown of Baltimore, Maryland; and S. Wormley, Gwathney, G. H. Butcher and J. E. Washington of Washington D.C.

The development of better local anesthetic solutions, the refinement of vaso-constrictors for these solutions, and the experimentation with conduction anesthesia were of intense interest to the dentists at the period of formation of the Tri-State. More sophisticated mechanical procedures rivaled the medical advances in dentistry. The demand for a presentation of this knowledge led the Tri-State to incorporate scientific sessions freely into the previously more social conventions. Shortly, discussions on articulators, anesthesia, general vs. local anesthetic agents, and the ethics of professional behavior attracted men from other states to the Buckroe Beach conventions.

The Tri-State Dental Association grew to such an extent that in 1918 its name was changed to the Inter-State Dental Association. At the annual meeting, in 1923, there were twenty-one states represented. As the Inter-State grew, men were attracted from the East, West, and North in large numbers, and it was evident that a national dental interest had been stimulated.

In the meanwhile, some of the dentists of the Interstate as well as others became affiliated with a dental division in the National Medical Association. These dentists held their conventions in congres with that of the physicians and pharmacists throughout the country. Positions of relative importance and prominence were held by some dentists within the framework of the N.M.A., and a sort of reflected glory of the medical association seemed to attract many of these dentists. Beyond this, there were many physicians and dentists as well as pharmacists who were yet acutely aware of the limited numbers of men within the association despite the hetehogeneity, and they felt that unity of all of these groups was essential to assure strength. Generally, however, the dental division seemed to remain a mere satellite of the medical association and many dentists felt a resentment of what they felt was a condescending air on the on the part of physicians with regard to their presence. Some dentists expressed the feeling that the attitude of their physician confreres was nothing short of arrogant. And the dental division's presence did not seem to tend to dim this contempt of the physicians.

The rival interstate Association of Dentists continued to become more appealing to dentists during the late 1920's, and by 1928, fifteen years after the founding of the Tri-State, a rather imposing roster of members was available.

In 1931, at the annual meeting at Buckroe Beach, the dentists attending decided that the conventions be rotated from one urban enter to another so that better clinical material and facilities could be available.

Following the release by the American Dental Association of all rights to the title, National Dental Association, the Interstate Association was renamed the National Dental Association in 1931 at Bordentown, New Jersey. Dr. Ferguson, who had previously served for two terms as President of the Inter-state, became the first President of the association.

The organizational framework of the National Dental Association followed the pattern established by the American Dental Association. It is to be noted that during and since this period of organization there has existed a spirit of cooperation between the National Dental Association and American Dental Association.

Later, programs were developed and expanded to include not only annual meetings and scientific clinics, but also interim activities such as the development of group study clubs, clinics for the indigent, direct cooperation with local and state health boards and municipal community dental health activities. A specific interest in Howard and Meharry Dental Schools became a definitive objective, to the end that improved and enlarged facilities might be made available. Local organized groups expanded into state component affiliates. Where there were no urban centers with large groups of Negro practitioners, men from all over the State gathered together and built up state societies. Local groups in the urban centers began programs of regular monthly meetings with clinical and scientific programs. Regional groups were established and dental societies of adjacent states joined in annual regional meetings. Many of these were programs with dental educators, clinicians, demonstrators, and operating technicians.

In 1963, the National Dental Association celebrated its fiftieth birthday with a Golden Anniversary convention in Philadelphia, Pa., Dr. Richard Layne of St. Louis, Missouri, was President.

Today, the National Dental Association is sixty-three years old and has served the Negro practitioners of dentistry very well. Although the elements and pressures that dictated its creation have lessened, nevertheless they still exist. Therefore, making the N.D.A. more viable, realistic, and necessary, and the N.D.A. still serves the Negro dentist as no other can or will!!!!

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