A History of the McGill Dental School 9780773594579

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A History of the McGill Dental School

Mervyn A. Rogers

Faculty of Dentistry McGill University MONTREAL

© Faculty of Dentistry, McGill University 1980 ISBN 0-7717-0011-3 Legal deposit second quarter 1980 Bibliotheque Nationale du Quebec Design by Naoto Kondo Printed in Canada

Contents

vii Illustrations Foreword by Kenneth C. Bentley ix xi Acknowledgements 1. In the Beginning 1 2. Bishop's Dental School 9 19 3. The Early Years at McGill, 1904-1939 41 4. McGill Dentists in Wartime 5. The Early Postwar Period, 1946-1955 49 63 6. The Unforgettable Dr. Leahy 7. Deans over the Years 69 8. The Roll of Honour 83 9. Without Whom It Would Have Been Impossible 95 107 10.Recent Years, 1955-1979 Appendix A Presidents of Professional 121 Associations' Appendix B Graduates in Dentistry from 123 Bishop's Medical College Appendix C Graduates of the McGill Dental School 125 143 Notes 145 Index

Illustrations

14 1. Dr. William George Beers 2. A Caughnawaga lacrosse team with Dr. Beers 15 15 3. Early dental building 4. Bishop's dental degree 16 17 5. Early Quebec dental licence 17 6. Early McGill degree 7. The Strathcona Anatomy and Dentistry Building 38 8. The main entrance to the old Montreal General 38 Hospital 39 9. The first dental clinic at the M.G.H. 39 10. The anaesthesia room, 1910 11. A pre-clinical laboratory at Strathcona Medical Building 39 12. Army dental clinic in France, 1915 47 13. A mobile dental clinic, Second World War 47 14. The new clinic at the old M.G.H., 1922 56 15. The orthodontic clinic 56 16. The supply room 57 17. The new Montreal General Hospital, 1955 57 18. The dental clinic at the new M.G.H. 58 The clinical laboratory, 1955 58 19. 20. Honoured guests at convocation 59 21—Sir William Kelsey Fry 59 60 22. Dr. James McCutcheon and associates 60 Dr. James McCutcheon 23.

viii Illustrations

24. Dr. P. G. Anderson 25 Dr. J. W. Gerrie 26. Dr. W. C. Bushell 27. Dean Ernest Charron 28. Principal F. Cyril James 29. Miss Anne Ferguson receives gift 30. Dr. Peter Brown 31. Dr. D. J. Berwick 32. Dr. A. W. Thornton 33. Dr. A. L. Walsh 34. Dr. D. P. Mowry 35. Dr. James McCutcheon 36. Dr. E. R. Ambrose 37. Dr. K. C. Bentley 38. Dr. F. H. A. Baxter 39. Dr. George S. Cameron 40. Dr. John S. Dohan 41. Dr. F. G. Henry 42. Dr. A. W. McClelland 43. Dr. J. B. Morison 44. Dr. L. E. Francis 45. Dr. W. G. Leahy 46. The renovated clinic, 1972 47. A clinical teaching session 48. The oral surgery area 49. Staff private consulting area 50. The oral diagnosis area 51. Dental intern in a treatment area 52. Research equipment in the Strathcona Anatomy and Dentistry Building 53. The W. G. Leahy Lecture Room 54. The mini-clinic

60 61 61 61 62 62 79 79 80 80 80 81 81 81 90 90 91 91 92 92 93 93 117 117 118 118 119 119 119 120 120

Foreword

It seems only proper and fitting as we celebrate our seventyfifth anniversary to retrace our steps over the past threequarters of a century. The writing of a history of the McGill dental school was first projected by the faculty two years ago to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the acceptance of students into the first year of a dental curriculum at this university. This book relates the story of how a succession of people struggled to raise the standards of their profession to an even higher plane and, in so doing, to provide an ever-better education for those students entering the program. In attempting to reach their objective, they were hampered often by a lack of understanding on the part of the public—and even within the profession itself—at times by a lack of encouragement from colleagues within the university at large, and always, of course, by a lack of funds. Medicine took centuries in raising itself in estimation to a level with the learned professions. Dentistry, largely because of its technical aspects, lagged behind. Only gradually, of recent years, has the relationship of teeth and mouth to general health been widely recognized, and dentistry been able to claim its rightful position as a branch of the healing arts. This book describes how teachers in this faculty have worked faithfully towards that end, fostering in every conceivable way the improvements that would help the technical side of dentistry, but being ever mindful of the biological aspects of the process. Dr. Mervyn Rogers was asked to proceed with the writing of this history. Indeed there could be no more appropriate person to carry out such a task. Born in 1916 at Bulwer, Quebec, in the

x Foreword Eastern Townships, he took his pre-dental education at Stanstead Wesleyan College and Bishop's University, from which he received his B.A. in 1936. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Dentistry, McGill University, class of 1940, and at the time of graduation was the recipient of the Gold Medal for highest standing in the final year as well as the College of Dental Surgeons of the Province of Quebec First Prize for excellence in the clinical examinations. Following graduation he entered private practice and served in the Canadian Dental Corps. His contact with the Faculty of Dentistry began in a part-time capacity in 1946. He served the faculty and McGill University for twenty-four years, becoming a full-time member in 1956, acquiring the rank of full professor and serving for his last two years at McGill as assistant dean of the faculty. Shortly after leaving McGill, he was appointed the first permanent accreditation coordinator for the Council on Education of the Canadian Dental Association, a post from which he has recently resigned. He is the recipient of many honours for his contributions to dentistry and dental education over the years. This history represents one more contribution. Always a keen student of the history of dentistry in this province, and in particular the McGill school, Dr. Rogers has been hard at work over the past year and a half researching information for this book, substantiating and corroborating details many of which were already known to him. The information which has been presented is not only fascinating in itself, but, to a McGill dental graduate, filled with nostalgia and pride. This faculty has achieved a record of which it can be justly proud. The responsibility now rests with those people associated with it at the present time, and those who are to come, to ensure that the tradition is carried on and that this school attains even greater heights. What is past is prologue! KENNETH C. BENTLEY Dean, Faculty of Dentistry McGill University

Acknowledgements

This book could not have been written without the help of many people. To all of them, I am most grateful. Indeed, one of the unforeseen rewards for this undertaking has been the enthusiastic response of so many who have assisted and become involved. All who have been consulted have responded willingly, and if the information requested was not readily at hand, they have obtained it for me. Since it would be virtually impossible to list them all, it is perhaps dangerous to mention any; but the loyal few whose help went far beyond what one would expect deserve special recognition here. Heading the list must be Dr. Robert Faith and Dr. Michael Rennert, two members of the Faculty of Dentistry who, early in the project, agreed to work with me as advisers and consultants. They have met with me several times and have read and reread the manuscript from the first draft to the last. There is no doubt that the final product is a better one for their help. My special thanks go also to Miss Kathleen Oliver, administrative assistant (student affairs) to the dean. With her wealth of experience and knowledge she has been of great assistance and she has cooperated in every way in making available any and all faculty records relevant to this undertaking. I am most grateful to Miss Jean Fensom, librarian for the Faculty of Dentistry. Not only has she made the entire facilities of the library available to me, but, in addition, she has helped me to research material and has obtained many items from other libraries within the university. My thanks go to Dr. Clayton Bourne, for many years historian and archivist of the Montreal Dental Club and one-time lecturer in Dental History at McGill, for the wealth of data which he had researched and filed with the historical records of the faculty. Many thanks, as well, to Dr. George

xii Acknowledgements D'Aoust, librarian of the Canadian Dental Association, for material supplied; to Mr. H. Artinian, photographer at the Montreal General Hospital, for his assistance with the illustrations; and to Miss Helene Hogan, secretary at the administrative office of the faculty, for her assistance in duplicating much of the material. I am grateful to the Notman Photographic Archives, McCord Museum of McGill University, for supplying pictures of Dr. Beers and his lacrosse team and to the University of Toronto Press for permission to use the picture of the first dental clinic in Quebec from the Paul-E. Poitras collection. I acknowledge the assistance of Dr. Stanley Frost, a former vice-principal of McGill who, at the time of this writing, is engaged in recording the history of the entire university. He has met with me on several occasions when we have exchanged ideas and data. Mostly, I am grateful for his sharing of his wealth of knowledge and experience in research and in writing. He taught me to question why events unfolded as they did and, if the reasons were not obvious, to speculate on the probable ones. This I have dared to do several times throughout the book. It is difficult for me to find adequate words to express my appreciation to my loyal secretary Mrs. Alice Pare and her husband Mr. Hugh Pare, who has been our runner, proofreader, and greatest booster. These people, both in retirement after successful careers, undertook this project with me, and Mrs. Pare has done all the typing related to it from the first draft to the finished manuscript as well as all the correspondence. I am most grateful to them both. As an extra reward for me, what began as a business arrangement has developed into a lasting friendship which I treasure. I express my special thanks to my wife Laura for her patience and understanding. Working at home has had many advantages, but it has also brought some disruption in normal routine since the project was always present. Lastly, I want to thank Dean Kenneth Bentley and the Faculty of Dentistry for giving me the opportunity to undertake this task. It has been a labour of love from the beginning for, having been associated with McGill and its Faculty of Dentistry for more than forty years as a student, an alumnus, a teacher, and an administrator, I feel that McGill is very much a part of me. I am most appreciative of this opportunity; I am

xiii Acknowledgements glad that I did not miss it. The material included has been researched as carefully as I know how, and a sincere effort has been made to give credit where it is due. Doubtless I have failed in some cases, and I offer my apologies to any person who has been overlooked in any way. M.A.R.

In the Beginning

The early history of dentistry and dental education in Canada has been well and thoroughly documented in D. W. Gullett's A History of Dentistry in Canada .1 One of his early chapters is entitled "Creation of a Profession." It became clear, as data were assembled for this book and the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place, that that is truly what was unfolding. It was in North America during the first half of the nineteenth century that, with the growing body of knowledge, the art and skills of dentistry began to be applied in a more rational and scientific manner. One can observe, further, that certain regions of the continent pioneered above others in this development. As the profession evolved, McGill dentists — more than sixteen hundred have graduated at the time of this writing—have played significant roles in that evolution. From the earliest days, extractions had been done out of necessity to relieve pain, but this must have been a horrible

experience for both the patient and the person carrying out the procedure! It must be remembered that general anaesthesia did not come into use until the 1840s and local anaesthesia several years later. Anaesthesia Dentists played a significant role in introducing general anaesthesia. Horace Wells, a Hartford, Connecticut, dentist, carried out early experiments with nitrous oxide. In 1846 Dr. William Morton, a Boston dentist, administered ether anaesthesia while Dr. John Warren, then surgeon-in-chief of the Massachusetts

General Hospital, dissected a tumour from the neck of Gilbert

2 The McGill Dental School Abbott before a distinguished and amazed audience. Local anaesthesia was introduced in 1879 when Von Anrep, a European ophthalmologist, discovered that cocaine had an anaesthetic effect on the eye when used topically. In 1884 Koller, a physician in Vienna, used it by injecting animals and, later, himself. Dr. Alexander Wood of Edinburgh improved the early, crude syringe, and in 1886 Dr. William Halstead, a surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, gave the first injection blocking the inferior alveolar nerve just as we do it today. The roles of physicians and dentists are now reversed; general anaesthesia has been perfected by physicians, while local anaesthesia has developed largely because of its wide use by dentists. Indeed, most of the newer local anaesthetics since procaine have been developed for and first used by dentists. Technical Developments By the early 1800s, dentures were being made and some restorations were placed in teeth. It remained for G. V. Black of Chicago to lay down the fundamental principles of cavity preparation in 1891; his principles still stand with some modifications brought about by improved materials. Another advance resulting from Dr. Black's research was the development of a balanced alloy in 1895. Inlays were made by burnishing a thin sheet of gold into a cavity, and then filling the shaped mould with gold solder. The production of inlays by the lost wax method came later. Dental Education In 1840 the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery was instituted and thus became the first dental school in the world.' In 1867 the Harvard University Dental School was established, becoming the first such school under the jurisdiction of a university, and the degree of Doctor of Dental Medicine was offered.' A short time after the Harvard School was founded, California State University opened a school of dentistry and offered the degree Doctor of Dental Surgery. The New York College of Dentistry was soon in operation. During the late 1800s, these were the principal centres for dental education in North America. Certainly, New York and Boston were the real sources of

3

In the Beginning

dental education for Canadians until the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario began its school in 1875. Early Canadian Dental Practice In Canada before the 1860s there was no legislation to prevent anyone from setting himself up as a dentist, and many people with little or no knowledge and limited skills passed themselves off as dentists. In 1858, the year in which the first Canadian currency was issued, there were eight dentists listed in the Province of Quebec. Five of them were in Montreal; the other three were in Quebec City.} These dentists had all been trained by apprenticeship, and, doubtless, they were quite skilful. Most had served a four-year indentureship, but others had not. There was no law to determine the length of training. Practising physicians of the day extracted many teeth, and it was standard equipment for physicians to have an assortment of forceps. This continued to be so, in rural areas and small towns, for many years. Indeed, in the Act respecting the College of Dental Surgeons of the Province of Quebec, up until its replacement by the Order of Dentists of Quebec in 1973, item 83 stated the following: "No person, except licensed physicians and surgeons, shall practise dental surgery in the Province before obtaining a licence from the Board." Today, however, physicians would be disciplined by the Professional Corporation of Physicians of Quebec for undertaking any dental procedure except in rare cases of emergency where no dentist was available. In the main, physicians never did attempt any restorative dentistry.

W. GT Beers History is the story of men and their accomplishments, and the history of dentistry in the Province of Quebec is no exception. The name of one man stands out above all others and deserves special mention here, for it was he who voiced strong objection to dental quacks, feeling that the public must be protected from them. It was largely due to his efforts that the Province of Quebec pioneered in organized dentistry. He was William George Beers, D.D.S. George Beers was born in Montreal on May 5, 1841, and

obtained his early education there. His training for the pro-

4 The McGill Dental School fession of his choice was obtained in the office of Charles M. Dickinson in Montreal, and he entered the practice of dentistry in Montreal in 1865. He achieved his licentiate in Dental Surgery from the Province of Ontario in 1870 and, subsequently, the same qualification in England. Later, when the Dental College of the Province of Quebec became affiliated with Bishop's College, the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery was conferred upon him.5 From the outset of his career, Beers was a prime mover in the advancement of the profession. He set out immediately to improve the standard of dental services by seeking legislation governing dental practice and to create proper training programs for those wishing to enter the profession. The dentists of Ontario had succeeded in persuading the government of that province to create the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario. This became a reality on March 4, 1868, the first such legislation in Canada. Dentists in Quebec quickly followed suit, and on September 2, 1868, some fifteen dentists gathered in Montreal and created the Dental Association of the Province of Quebec. The minutes of that first meeting are in Beers's handwriting and signed by him as secretary of the new association. An act to incorporate the association was passed by the Quebec legislature on April 4, 1869. It is interesting, in the light of developments in later years, that there was no French name for this association. All the minutes were written in English and no French words appear on the seal of the association. In 1905 this body became the College of Dental Surgeons of the Province of Quebec. (In 1973, with the passage of Bill 250 in the National Assembly of Quebec, it became the Order of Dentists of Quebec.) Beers remained as secretary of the association for many years. With the introduction of legislation, standards of practice were established. Practising dentists had to be licensed by the association after satisfying an examining board of their competence. Candidates wishing to be dentists were required to become indentured to a licensed dentist for a period of four years. This step was not to be taken lightly. At the outset of his studies the candidate and his preceptor entered a formal agreement before a notary. In this contract the candidate agreed to serve his apprenticeship faithfully and his preceptor agreed to teach him. At the successful completion of the indentureship, the candidate was required to satisfy a board of examiners before being admitted to the profession.

5 In the Beginning In 1883 Beers became the fourth president of the Dental Association, a post which he held until 1886. Once again, he was surely the driving force which resulted in the enactment of legislation in the Province of Quebec in 1883 introducing a matriculation examination. As a result of this legislation, candidates were required to pass an examination set by the association before entering the study of dentistry. The requirements for the examination were carefully spelled out and involved a knowledge of such subjects as English, history, Latin, algebra, geometry, chemistry, and physics. This did much to elevate the standards of practitioners, and one wonders whether this method of selection was perhaps not as effective as that used today. It eliminated those who, despite their credentials, could not think and were not knowledgeable, and it allowed admission of the candidate who had become educated by his own initiative. Dr. Beers's life outside his professional interests was a varied one. He had many talents. He was a patriot and served at the front during the Fenian raids of 1866 and 1870 as one of the original members of the Victoria Rifles. He attained the rank of captain and subsequently became a member of the Victoria Rifles reserve. He was a keen sportsman and became known throughout Canada as "the father of lacrosse." He had first seen the game played at Caughnawaga and saw in it great potential for developing sportsmanship and physical fitness. He formulated the first rules for the game; these remain little changed today. He organized two lacrosse teams, one of them made up entirely of Indians from Caughnawaga, and took them to England, Ireland, and Scotland in 1876.6 The game attracted much attention, and Beers succeeded in interesting not only the young men of Great Britain but nobility and influential people as well. By royal command they played before Queen Victoria, who presented each player with an autographed photograph of herself and entertained the teams at luncheon at Windsor Castle. In 1882 he again toured Great Britain with another lacrosse team. Beers was a member of the American Dental Association and frequently spoke at its meetings. He was a distinguished writer and editor. In 1868 he began publication of the first true dental journal in Canada — the Canada Journal of Dental Science. Volume 1, numbers 1-5 appeared in Montreal beginning in

Tune 1868. Then for a time it was published in Hamilton, Ontario, where C. S. Chittenden acted as assistant editor. It

6 The McGill Dental School finally moved back to Montreal. The journal was always in financial trouble, and Beers supported it largely by his own resources until May 1872 when it was discontinued. In January 1889 he published the first issue of his Dominion Dental Journal. For the first year it was issued quarterly, in the second year it became bimonthly, and in 1893 it began to appear monthly. It was published in Toronto and served the dental profession for over forty years until it was absorbed by the Canadian Dental Association and became the journal of that association. Dental College of the Province of Quebec Beers wrote extensively in his new journal, using it as a vehicle to express his philosophy and his hopes for dentistry. His great ambition was to begin a dental school in the Province of Quebec. Through the Dental Association of the Province of Quebec he succeeded in establishing the Dental College of the Province of Quebec in 1892. Teaching was to be in both French and English, and Beers hoped to have the school affiliated with McGill University or the Universite Laval or, perhaps, both. For some reason Laval—the only French university in the Province of Quebec at that time having a medical faculty—was not interested. McGill University was willing to entertain the proposal provided the dental college would accept the degree Graduate in Dental Surgery and occupy a position inferior to their veterinary college which, at the time, conferred the degree Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) upon its graduates.' This was unacceptable to Beers and to the Dental Association of the Province of Quebec. One can readily deduce from this, since neither one of these medical schools wished to have a dental school, that the medical profession itself probably wanted to deny professional status to dentists. Things would then have remained as they were, with dentists forever subjugated to the medical profession. In retrospect, it is probably fortunate for McGill that Laval did not accept the school. If they had, the McGill dental school might never have been instituted, for ten years later the Faculty of Medicine at McGill was still reluctant to accept a Department of Dentistry. The Dental Association of the Province of Quebec then decided to begin the school without university affiliation. Beers was appointed dean, and the Dental College of the Province of Quebec admitted its first candidates in 1892.

7 In the Beginning The clinical facilities were located at no. 2 Phillips Square. Instruction was in both French and English, and students could obtain instruction in the basic medical sciences at the medical schools of McGill, Laval, or Bishop's. Apparently they arranged for these studies themselves, and, when they had satisfied the instructors in these courses, they were given "tickets" certifying this.' They were required to present these tickets at the time of their examination for the licentiate in Dental Surgery (L.D.S.) offered by the association. Indentureship for four years was still required, and the candidate had to enter a formal agreement with a practising dentist at the outset of his studies. The matriculation examination was required for admission to studies at the school, which lasted for three years. In 1895 the period of required indentureship was reduced to three years to coincide with the length of the program. Beers continued to press for university affiliation and, in 1896, achieved such an arrangement with the University of Bishop's College in Lennoxville, which at that time had a medical school in Montreal. In 1896 Beers wrote in the Dominion Dental Journal, "The Dental College of the Province of Quebec, after the usual vicissitudes of new organizations, has been affiliated to the University of Bishop's College for the purpose of obtaining the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery." Beers continued as dean under the new affiliation with Bishop's and remained in this post until 1898. He died in December 1900.

Bishop's Dental School

Over the years Bishop's University in Lennoxville, Quebec, has provided pre-dental education for many who later study dentistry at McGill. Some readers, including those who have followed this route, may be surprised to learn that Bishop's once had a dental school. It existed from 1896 until 1904 as a department of the medical faculty which the university had at that time. Bensley' has given a detailed account of Bishop's Medical College, and since its history relates directly to medicine and dentistry at McGill, a brief resume is perhaps in order here. In any case, it is an interesting story and, in some ways, a strange one. Bishop's Medical College McGill had had a Faculty of Medicine since 1829.2 In 1862 Francis Wayland Campbell entered the practice of medicine in Montreal. He soon became well known and has been described as ambitious, energetic, and able. He was interested in being involved in medical education but, for some reason, had never been invited to join the McGill staff. He became quite bitter and outspoken about this, and, gathering around him a small group of colleagues who shared his feelings, he convinced the University of Bishop's College to institute a medical faculty which opened in 1871. Dr. Campbell was the first registrar and later became dean of the faculty. The school was always in Montreal, and the only connection with Bishop's, really, was that candidates attended convocation and received their

degrees there. The first session, in 1871-72, was held in rented quarters at McGill and Notre Dame Streets. The following year

10 The McGill Dental School the college moved into a new building of its own at the corner of St. George and Ontario Streets.' These streets have now been renamed — St. George Street is now Jeanne Mance and Ontario Street, at that point, has become Boulevard de Maisonneuve. The building, still standing in the late 1950s, was demolished to make way for the Place des Arts metro station. The college was noteworthy for two particular achievements: it was the first medical school to admit women and it had a dental school from 1896 to 1904. Many interesting people were associated with Bishop's Medical College. Maude Abbott, later famous at McGill, graduated there as did Casey A. Wood for whom the Wood Gold Medal at McGill is named. Dr. Herbert Reddy was professor of Obstetrics, and the Bishop's obstetrical unit was at the Women's Hospital. This institution, now enlarged and improved, is the Reddy Memorial Hospital on Tupper Street. William Henry Drummond, one of the 246 graduates, became better known for his poetry written in habitant dialect; very few people know that he was a practising physician. The medical college continued until 1905; Campbell remained its dean throughout and was its principal supporter. In 1904, however, he suffered great sorrow through the death of his elder son. In April 1905 ill health forced him to resign the deanship, and in that same month his only surviving son died. One month later Campbell himself died. With Campbell gone, the school was without its motivating force. It was perhaps due to Sir William Osler that Bishop's Medical College was absorbed by McGill in 1905. Although Osler had long since left McGill, he continued to have a considerable influence upon its Faculty of Medicine. Two years earlier, in an address delivered in Toronto on the occasion of the merger of the two medical faculties of the University of Toronto and Trinity University, he had said that small medical schools could no longer survive. The medical classes at Bishop's had had from six to ten students on the average. In 1905 Bishop's heeded Osler's advice and joined McGill.

The Dental School During this period, as has been pointed out in the preceding chapter, the Dental College of the Province of Quebec had operated an independent dental school in Montreal. At Beers's

11 Bishop's Dental School urging, a decision was taken to establish this school as the Department of Dentistry in the medical faculty at Bishop's. The first class officially entered in 1896. Classes continued to be held, with the same teachers, in the clinic on Phillips Square, and Bishop's absorbed the students then enrolled. Dr. George Beers remained head and retained the title of dean, an interesting detail since the school was not a faculty but, rather, a department of the medical faculty. The school remained closely connected with the Dental Association of the Province of Quebec, which provided the clinical space and the equipment it contained. The announcement calendars of the day listed it as: Dental College of the Province of Quebec in affiliation with The University of Bishop's College It gave a three-year program as the Dental College of the Province of Quebec had done. Bishop's offered the degree Doctor in Dental Surgery and thus became the first university in the Province of Quebec to grant a dental degree. Masters's history of Bishop's University records that eighty-six dental degrees were awarded.' Twenty-six of these were conferred in 1896, the year the school officially began. Among the recipients were the teachers at the school, many of whom had held the licenciate in Dental Surgery from the Dental Association of the Province of Quebec for several years. They were granted the Bishop's D.D.S. ad eundum. Others in the group were in the final year of the program when the school was absorbed by Bishop's. Fourteen of the class of 1896 had been or became licensed in the Province of Quebec. It is not clear where the remaining twelve went. Doubtless they were from outside the Province of Quebec for there were only two schools in Canada at the time, one in Toronto and this one in Montreal. Five degrees were granted in 1905 and four in 1906, despite the fact that the school had been absorbed by McGill in 1904; but that's another story relating to the troubles surrounding the McGill school at its beginning. Instruction was given at the school in both French and English. This must have been a costly operation, for it meant much duplication of teachers. The 1902-3 announcement, for instance, lists two professors of General and Dental Pathology; they were F. G. Henry and L. Franchere. Similarly, E. R. Barton and J. A. Maufette were both professors of Materia

12 The McGill Dental School Medica, Therapeutics, and Anaesthetics. Many of the graduates of the school became the first teachers of the McGill school. Among them were J. S. Ibbotson, who became the first clinical director; D. J. Berwick, who became chairman of the Dental Executive; F. G. Henry, who was a beloved teacher for many years; J. B. Morison, a prominent orthodontist and head of that department; and J. S. Dohan, who was, for many years, head of the Prosthetics Department. Others who became prominent in professional circles were Eudore Dubeau, who became dean at Laval and, later, the University de Montreal; Dr. G. G. Armitage; and Dr. F. L. Wilkinson. One woman graduated from the school. She was Georgiana McBain, who received her degree in 1903 and practised in Montreal until 1925. Her practice and last office in the new Medical Arts Building were assumed by Dr. Victor Jekyll. Applicants for admission to the school, except those who held degrees in arts or medicine from a British or Canadian university, were required to pass the matriculation examination of the Dental Association of the Province of Quebec before they could register as students of the college. The fee for the examination was ten dollars. Tuition was one hundred dollars a year and the diploma cost twenty-five dollars. The curriculum contained Dental Pathology and Therapeutics, Operative Dentistry, Mechanical Dentistry, Dental Materia Medica and Orthodontia, Dental Surgery and Anaesthetics, Dental Technique, and Crown and Bridge Work. The subjects of Anatomy, Pathology, Chemistry, Embryology, and Histology were taken at the medical school of Bishop's University on St. George Street. It is not clear where the administrative headquarters of the dental school were, but in 1900 applicants were invited to address communications to Dean Kerr, 60 Beaver Hall Hill, or to G. H. Kent, L.D.S., Secretary, at 2334a St. Catherine Street. It is presumed that these were private dental offices of these men. In 1901 William Giles had become dean, and communications were to be sent to him at 99 Union Avenue. In 1898 the clinic moved from Phillips Square to a new location over a clothing store on the northwest corner of St. Catherine and St. Lawrence Streets. The building still stands and still houses a clothing store on St. Catherine Street. In 1901 the course was extended from three to four years. Concurrently, the Dental Association of the Province of Quebec increased the indentureship for those wishing to practise in the

13 Bishop's Dental School Province of Quebec from three to four years. Indentureship would continue to be required until 1909. During the eight years of its existence the Bishop's dental school had no fewer than seven deans. They were W. G. Beers in 1896; J. H. Bourdon, the only French person to hold the post, in 1897; Stephen Globensky in 1897-99; J. G. Globensky, Stephen's brother, in 1899; W. J. Kerr in 1900; W. J. Giles in 1901; and Peter Brown in 1902-4. Dr. Beers and Dr. Brown were well known and are documented, in detail, elsewhere in this book. Little is known about the others.

14

1. Dr. William George Beers

15

2. A Caughnawaga lacrosse team with Dr. Beers left centre

3. This building at no. 2 Phillips Square contained the first teaching clinic in the Province of Quebec

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