Women and Children Only: María Teresa Saleme and the Feminization of Dentistry in Argentina.

Women currently form the majority of dentists in Latin America, yet the historical reasons for this development have not been explored. As early as the second decade of the 20 century, a high number of dental students in Argentina were women, yet the stories of these early women dentists have not been told. This study uses the life of María Teresa Saleme, a pioneering woman dentist, as a case study to describe the experiences of early woman dentists in Argentina. This study posits that the way in which the professionalization of dentistry occurred in Argentina set the stage for the subsequent predominance of women in the field. Sources include archival research and personal interviews. In addition, a review was undertaken of the current literature on early women dentists, the history of dentistry in Argentina, and the professionalization of dentistry.