Minnie Evangeline Jordon (June 22, 1865 – October 10, 1952) was an American dentist, and the first dentist in the United States to specialize in

pediatric dentistry Pediatric dentistry (formerly pedodontics in American English or paedodontics in Commonwealth English) is the branch of dentistry dealing with children from birth through adolescence. The specialty of pediatric dentistry is recognized by the Ameri ...

Early life

Minnie Evangeline Jordon was born in

Fulton County, Illinois Fulton County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 37,069. Its county seat is Lewistown, and the largest city is Canton. Fulton County comprises the Canton, IL Micropolitan Statisti ...

, the daughter of Eugene B. Jordon and Catherine Rebecca Calvert Jordon. She moved to California in 1887 and graduated from the

Los Angeles State Normal School The history of the University of California, Los Angeles traces back to the 19th century when the institution operated as a teachers' college. It would grow in size and scope for nearly four decades on two Los Angeles campuses before California go ...

in 1891. She went on to graduate from the University of California's dental program in 1898. While she was in dental school, she ran an oral health clinic at an orphanage in San Francisco.Alma Whitaker, "Fame Won as Dentist by Woman" ''Los Angeles Times'' (April 7, 1933): A5.

Career

Jordon taught elementary school and worked as a dental assistant while she was training to be a dentist in Berkeley, then opened her own dental practice in Los Angeles. At first she had a general practice; in 1909, she established the first dental practice in the United States devoted only to pediatric patients. In 1916 she gave a lecture to the Los Angeles County Nurses' Association on "The Relation of the Teeth to the Development of the Child". She presented a paper, "Relation of Food to the Developing Teeth", at the 1921 meeting of the California State Dental Association, recommending fewer sweets and more milk, coarse grains, eggs, and vegetables in children's diets. As a "pioneer in

pedodontics Pediatric dentistry (formerly pedodontics in American English or paedodontics in Commonwealth English) is the branch of dentistry dealing with children from birth through adolescence. The specialty of pediatric dentistry is recognized by the Ame ...

" she published the first textbook on the subject in 1925, titled ''Operative Dentistry for Children''. She was an associate professor of dentistry at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, and an officer in the Southern California Dental Association. She was a founder and first president of the Federation of American Women Dentists and a founder of the American Society of Dentistry for Children.

Personal life

Minnie Evangeline Jordon died in Los Angeles in 1952, aged 87 years."Obituary: Dr. M. E. Jordon" ''Los Angeles Times'' (October 12, 1952): A18.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordon, Minnie Evangeline 1865 births 1952 deaths American dentists Women dentists Dentistry in the United States University of California alumni University of Southern California faculty 20th-century dentists