1885

• The history of the modern dental assistant likely began in the office of a New Orleans dentist by the name of Dr. C. Edmund Kells. Dr. Kells hired a young woman to replace the male assistant who had been working for him and, in 1887, had mentioned a "lady assistant" in a paper published by the Ohio Journal of Dental Science. It was slow-going for the female assistant as some people were reluctant to have a woman doing their dental work, but, by the early 1900s, signs hanging in dental office windows read "Lady In Attendance."
  
  

1911

• Dr. Henry Fowler, a dentist practicing in New York City, hired Juliette Southard as his permanent dental assistant in 1911. As dental assistant societies began organizing around the country, Southard formed a society in New York City. She visualized the establishment of a national organization for her profession.
  
  

1923

• Juliette Southard joined with Jessie Ellsworth, president of the Chicago and Cook County Dental Assistants Association, to petition to attend the American Dental Association convention held in Cleveland, Ohio. Permission was granted and their appearance would mark the first step in legitimizing the place of dental hygienists in the dental profession.
  
  

1924

• A fledgling group called the American Dental Assistants Association met in Dallas, where they adopted a constitution and bylaws and elected officers. Juliette Southard was elected the group's first president. They were incorporated the following year in Illinois with no distinction being made between chair side assistant, receptionist or general assistant.
  
  

1947

• A separate and autonomous agency was formed to test and qualify dental assistants for certification and the right to use the term Certified Dental Assistant after their names. The formation of an agency for certification put in place professional qualifications for anyone who aspired to be a dental hygienist. Practitioners now had to prove they were well-prepared to work in a dental office.
  
  

1952

• In 1952 the first dental hygiene accreditation program was launched. By the following year, 21 programs were operating. The field expanded quickly under new rules and regulations set out by the American Dental Assistants Association.