Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, Class of 1897
Dr. Yasu Nakamura
Pioneering Dentist with a Royal Appointment
Graduating in 1897 from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery,* Dr. Yasu Nakamura was a trailblazer among women in dentistry. She served as vice president of her class during her junior year, demonstrating early leadership in a male-dominated field.
Her career gained international recognition when she was appointed to care for members of Japan’s Imperial Family, earning her the distinction of tending to “royal teeth.”
Image source: PDM Women's History LibGuide
*The Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery (PCDS) would eventually merge with the University of Pennsylvania in 1909
"Mr. President and gentlemen, I have great pleasure in introducing to you Dr. Yasu Nakamura, who has passed her examination successfully, and is going back to Japan to practice her profession in Tokio. She has just recieved an appointment from the royal palace, and is going to care for the royal teeth there; and it is a very great gratification to us to know they they will have the services of so excellent a dentist in Japan."
- Dr. Head, in an introduction for Dr. Nakamura, from PDM Women's History LibGuide
