WHILE the caption does not quite fit into the scope of this column, it has an interesting context. Should anyone find it strange that 80 percent of the dentists in this country are men, although there are more women than men here? We know this trend is global. Today, I will deal with the past and present role of women in the sphere of dentistry and examine why this situation exists and if it impacts the oral health of the public.

For hundreds of years, it was a universally accepted rule that academic institution was a privilege for men. We can see the evidence in halls of boardrooms of prestigious universities where the walls are covered with portraits of famous professors and scientists from ancient times to the present day. They are almost exclusively men.

It was not until the 19th century that the prejudice against women in academic education began to be contested. Thanks to the fighting spirit of and perseverance of a few forerunners, the universities were opened to female students. However, the newly established dental schools were initially hesitant to admit women students, and in some instances, the objection was powerful.

The first woman to receive a dental degree was Lucy Beaman Hobbs, who graduated from the Ohio College of dental surgery in 1866. Others followed; for example, in Sweden, Constance Elbe graduated at the Karolinska Institute in 1889. In Scotland, the first woman dentist, Lilian Murray Lindsay, graduated in 1895.

The general trend worldwid, is towards an increasing number of women entering the dental profession. For example, in England and Wales, the proportion of women among new entrants on the Dentists Register in 1975 was about 25%, in 1985 about 35% and in 1988 it was 40%.

International statistics indicate that women and men are equally successful in pursuing studies in dentistry and in winning prizes and awards for high-quality work. However, over the years, there seems to be a general trend which reflects a difference in the careers of female and male dentists.

For some unknown reason, the number of women who aspire to be the top echelon of the teaching staff of the dental faculties and colleges is far below what it should be given the proportion of women to men dentists who enter the field of dentistry. Few women actually make it to the top to occupy the professor’s chair. The records for the other senior positions are also disappointing.

Two reasons have been given why women do not usually reach very high administering dental education. The first one is that there still appears to be some bias against women in the academic world. Many heads of dental schools feel that to be weighed and measured on the same scale as their male counterparts, they have to do better. The other reason is that those who occupy high posts today started their academic careers 25 to 35 yrs ago when it was much more uncommon for a woman to aspire to reach a top position, and society, as well as families in general, took a less supportive attitude to women’s professional ambitions.

While certainly women are becoming increasingly involved in dentistry, in Finland, the situation is unique.

Finland is the only country in the world where more than 80% of the dental profession are women. Indeed Finnish women almost completely dominate the profession in every aspect of it. However, comparative studies indicate that Finland’s dental service is not superior to countries with similar economies.