Book review

Janine Brooks wrote this book in 2018 to celebrate the achievements of women dental professionals in the 100 years since some women in UK achieved the right to vote in 1918. Unfortunately, the 100 years does not fit with our dental suffragettes because Lillian Murray (the first woman to qualify as a dentist in UK) qualified in Edinburgh in 1895. Fortunately, our pioneers get a brief mention later in the text.

Early chapters look at the position of women in dentistry in 1918 and the history between 1918 and 2018. Of particular interest is the Women in Dentistry (WiD) group started in 1985 and wound up in 2007 with its aims achieved. These included equality for women in the NHS pension scheme, provision of maternity pay for women in the General Dental Services and entitlement under the NHS pension scheme for widowers of dentists. The history concludes by describing where women were in 2018. The diagram on the book cover indicates women in all influential positions in the profession.