by Linda Rhoades, RDH, BS, FADHA
March 12, 2025

As a “seasoned” (old) dental hygienist practicing 42 years, I have engaged in a diverse range of professional activities, including clinical, teaching dental hygiene and assisting, as well as writing and public speaking.  I felt at the pinnacle of my career in 2021 when the ADHA bestowed upon me the Irene Newman award. But my excitement was short-lived once I realized most didn’t know who Irene Newman was. Even my dental hygiene peers had difficulty dredging up her memory. Had Irene become irrelevant since she first picked up a scaler in 1907?

Some people get a “calling” to climb Mount Everest. My calling was to find out what Irene’s story was. It was strong enough feeling to devote a year of research to, in order to make the Irene Newman Award an even more meaningful and emotional testament to her legacy.

I initially turned to the internet, which informed me she was Alfred Fones’ assistant and displayed a vintage photo of someone who is not even Irene. My visit to the Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry in Baltimore, Maryland, yielded nothing about Irene in their “birth of dental hygiene” exhibit. Even the Sindecuse Museum on the campus of the University of Michigan responded, “Irene who?”

Determined to find answers, I decided to head to the source. I traveled to Connecticut and spent a week on the campus of the University of Bridgeport with the faculty of the Fones School of Dental Hygiene. I visited the Bridgeport Historical Society. I brought purple flowers to Irene’s gravesite at Mountain Give Cemetery and pleaded at her headstone, “Look, sister, you’ve got to help me out here. They are forgetting you.”

Fortunately, the Fones School of Dental Hygiene has not forgotten Irene, and their archives and ephemera were a treasure trove of information. I spent many hours reading articles in old Bridgeport newspapers, consulted genealogists, and searched for anyone still alive who knew her or her son, Alden. I obtained as much information available about her life and work, despite Irene Newman being someone who preferred to fly under the radar.

Have you ever felt the pressure to prove yourself, only to be repeatedly overlooked, undervalued, or doubted? I certainly have, and so did Irene. Have you ever found yourself a victim of discrimination in any form: sex, race, financial status, or education level? Irene did too. An unplanned pregnancy at a young age? It happened to Irene when she was 17 years old.

Irene had a short marriage that ended in divorce, leaving her with the responsibility of raising a child alone. She lived in Victorian times; if an illegitimate baby didn’t ostracize her enough, the divorce certainly did. But along came the progressive Dr. Alfred Fones, who offered Irene the chance to train as his assistant.

Alfred Fones’ dental school class was the first to learn the theory that microbes present in plaque were the cause of dental pathology. He knew if he could teach people oral hygiene, the rate of decay and periodontal disease would plummet. He offered to teach Irene everything he had learned in dental school about prophylaxis so she could clean teeth and educate the patients. Irene agreed. At that time, in the early 1900s, only about 20% of the population owned toothbrushes. People had never heard of scaling teeth, and a female clinician was rare.

Is your back sore at the end of the day? Irene worked standing up and had to work by the light of gas lamps because electricity was not yet widely available. She had no ergo loupes, PPI, or saddle stools, and initially used rudimentary scalers meant for carving amalgam. Yet she never complained or let any negativity affect her care of patients. remaining focused and eager to learn. Other dentists in Bridgeport began to resent Dr. Fones for condoning procedures performed by a layperson, even though he had trained Irene for 9 months. Complaints were made to the dental board, and subsequently Irene was arrested for impersonating a dentist. Still, Irene remained diligent. Thus began the fight for autonomy, licensure, and scope of practice for Irene Newman, the first and ONLY dental hygienist.

Dr. Fones and Irene Newman sought and received permission from the Connecticut State Dental Board to form a school to train dental hygienists. In 1914, the Fones School of Dental Hygiene graduated 27 hygienists. Many from the first graduating class took jobs in Bridgeport schools working with local children. Subsequent classes continued on to private practice settings.

Fones School of Dental Hygiene First Graduating Class, 1914
Irene Newman is in the middle row fourth, from left, at Dr. Alfred Fones’ side.
Photo used by author with permission from the University of Bridgeport.

When the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic hit at the end of World War I, the city of Bridgeport suffered the lowest mortality rate of any city its size. This is attributed to improved immune systems among the population due to heightened awareness and practice of oral hygiene. A five-year study on local school children demonstrated a remarkable drop in caries rates, childhood diseases, and school absenteeism.

Today, we know that healthy mouths reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, lessen symptoms of diabetes, and help prevent Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline. A disease-free mouth also lowers pregnancy risk and prevents GI diseases. These are health benefits with documented scientific evidence, yet over 100 years later, we still have to prove ourselves to the American Dental Association and to state legislatures that dental hygiene is an essential part of healthcare. Lack of access to care affects over half the country, but independent licensure and the Dental Therapist program remain out of reach for the majority of hygienists.

The history of dental hygiene is one of progress, evolving from a profession once unheard of to an essential part of preventive oral and systemic health. This progress needs to continue moving forward. Irene Newman did not back down or attempt to quit and neither will we.

The Connecticut Dental Hygiene Association interviewed Irene in 1955, three years before she passed. I had the good fortune to locate a transcript of the interview while at Fones in Bridgeport. When asked what she thought about being named The World’s First Dental Hygienist, she scoffed and said, “I didn’t think a thing about it. The work was there to do, so I did it.”

The work is still here for us to do. So let’s go do it.

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The information in this article is sourced from the same references as the author’s 2024 published novel Irene Newman: The World’s First Dental Hygienist. The book creatively tells the story of Irene’s journey and transformation as a pioneer in dental hygiene. Available for purchase on Amazon.com.

Linda Rhoades, RDH, BS, FADHA, spent most of her career as a periodontal hygienist and is a Fellow of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA®).  She is the author of “Irene Newman, the World’s First Dental Hygienist.” She has written for RDH, Florida AGD’s Focus, Dental Economics, and Dente Magazine. She enjoys traveling to dental hygiene schools speaking to students on dental hygiene history and professional development. In 2021, she was awarded the Irene Newman Outstanding Clinician Award from the ADHA. This award honors a clinical dental hygienist who shows outstanding expertise in relating the interdependence of clinical practice, patient education and the improvement of patient compliance, all while making a difference in the lives of their patients. It was this award that inspired Linda to tell Irene Newman’s story.