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Henry Tunstall Wood

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Henry T. Wood originated from New York State and practiced dentistry in the town of Picton, Ontario. He had a reputation for being a “gentlemen dentist” who settled disputes (Gullett, 1971). This characteristic would come in handy for the creation of the Ontario Dental Association (Gullett, 1971) as he mediated peacefully amongst his peers.

Wood also had great distaste for people who practiced dentistry without any formal training, describing them as: “Men who went about the country ignorantly and presumptuously talking dentistry to the curious crowds which gathered to listen to them, and sometimes before the victim was aware of his intentions the dirty fingers of a dental vagabond would enter a rustic’s mouth and many a good molar would be doomed” (Gullett, 1971, p. 50-51). Wood also became the president of the Ontario Dental Association in 1878 (Shosenberg, 1992). 

References:

Gullett, D. W. (1971). A history of dentistry in Canada. Toronto: Published for the Canadian Dental Association by University of Toronto Press.

Shosenberg, J. W. (1992). The rise of the Ontario Dental Association : 125 years of organized dentistry. Toronto: Ontario Dental Association

Ontario Dental Association. (1967). A Profile: the first one hundred years. Toronto: Ontario Dental Association.

Henry Tunstall Wood