Rediscovering Lost Journals of the Early Twentieth Century Socialist Dentists: How Radical Became Mainstream

Current mainstream political movements in the profession of dentistry advocate conservative views in present discussions of healthcare. However, this paper recovers the history of the organized socialist movement in the dental profession during the early twentieth century through recently rediscovered publications that have been virtually lost to the history of the American dentistry and healthcare. These journals advocate for national policy changes in the dental field including increased access to oral health and state regulation of the profession, arguing that such changes would be socially just. An analysis of these forgotten journals within the context of the present day profession of dentistry reveals how the profession has incorporated many of these historically left-wing policies into their mainstream and right-wing agendas.

The rediscovery of the The Progressive Dentist, a monthly publication of the Dentists Study Chapter of the Intercollegiate Socialist Society, brings to light lost political discussions in oral health just prior to World War I. These perspectives will be compared to current regulations and policies in the field of dentistry.

While critics dismissed these ideas as radical in the 1910s, improved access to care and standardized professional practices later became an accepted mainstream practice. The case of The Progressive Dentist illuminates a larger historical process whereby political ideas at the margins of political discourse have sometimes entered the mainstream. This paper not only speaks directly to the conference theme of social justice, but to larger political debates today as those calling for universal healthcare are demonized as “Bolsheviks” by critics.