02/01/2024
Happy Black History Month!!
TO CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH, we want to spotlight one of the early pioneers of African Americans in dentistry: Dr. George Franklin Grant, born in Oswego, New York in 1846 to parents who were former slaves.
As a teenager, George worked as a lab assistant to local dentist Dr. Albert Smith, who encouraged him to pursue a career in dentistry. At age 22, George was one of the first six African Americans accepted into the Harvard University School of Dental Medicine. 🎓
After graduating in 1870, Dr. Grant went on to become the first black Harvard faculty member when he took a position in the Department of Mechanical Dentistry. He specialized in cleft palate and speech therapy, and he gained international recognition for inventing a prosthetic insert that enabled patients with cleft palates to speak and eat normally.
Dr. Grant was a founding member and president of the Harvard Odontological Society. He was also elected President of the Harvard Dental Association in 1881. Perhaps his most unusual accomplishment, though, was the invention of the golf tee! ⛳
