AAWD's Exquisite Heritage
Dr. Gilette Hayden: The "Soul" of AAWD
The American Association of Women Dentists was formed in 1921. The organization is dedicated to enhancing and promoting unique participation and leadership for women in dentistry by mentoring and supporting women dentists, both academically and personally.
AAWD was started, however, primarily for the social benefits of the few women attending dental meetings at that time. Of course, it did not take long for those social meetings to turn into deep friendships, which became the lifeblood of the group. As Dr. Margaret Dickerson stated in a speech for AAWD's 50th anniversary in 1971, it was Dr. Gilette Hayden who ultimately gave the association a soul.
Dr. Gillette Hayden, a 1902 graduate of Ohio State University, served as AAWD's third president. Devouted to the advancement of periodontia in dental practice, shoe founded the American Academy of Periodontology in 1914 along with Dr. Grace R. Spaulding, AAWD's sixth president.
She served as the second president of AAP and was the second person to receive the academy fellowship. After Dr. Hayden's death in 1929, AAWD established a loan fund, the Gillette Hayden Memorial Foundation, to aid promising women dental students. The American Academy of Periodontology dedicated its journal to her memory. "The present status of periodontia is largely due to her vision and unceasing labors. . . . Few have made more notable contributions to its progress, and no one was ever more interested in its success or gave it a more unselfish service."
Dr. Hayden was an inspiration to all who knew her. She inherited her activism and her humanitarianism from her mother, a feminist in those difficult days when women were first seeking a status higher than that of chattel. her great-grandfather, Dr. Horace Hayden, along with Dr. S.S. Harris, were the founders of the Baltimore School of Dental Surgery, now the University of Maryland, School of Dentistry, the first chartered dental college in the world. Dr. Hayden was a professional woman of the highest order. She dignified dentistry and was proud of her profession. Her skill level and love of humanity yielded an extremely successful clinical practice, with patients calling her their "best friend" after her death.
She did not confine her interests to dentistry, however. Dr. Hayden was a pioneer in many movements for the betterment of women. She was active in many civic organizations and business groups. During the years when American women were seeking the right to vote, Dr. Hayden continued the feminist activities of her own pioneer suffragette mother. When the amendment of the U.S. Constitution providing universal women's suffrage was best to be ratified by her own state of Ohio, Dr. Hayden relinquished her office to representatives form the national Women's Party so they would have a space in which to work and lobby members of the Ohio Legislature for ratification. In 1920 the Amendment was ratified by the Ohio Legislature and by three-fourths of the states; finally women had th right to vote.
Dr. Hayden's death in 1929 left AAWD members wanting to do something to keep the memory of this vivacious member alive forever. At the 1930 annual meeting in Denver, Colorado, with Dr. Mildred Dickerson as president, the Gillette Hayden Fund was born. Two hundred dollars was taken from the AAWD treasury to start the fund, and each succeeding president urged members to make voluntary contributions. The original purpose of the fund was to make loans to women dental students in their junior or senior years. The first loan was made to Helen Hayes Harmon, a junior at the University of Michigan. Dr. Harmon graduated in 1935, became an AAWD member, built a successful practice in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and promptly repaid her loan.
In the 1960s, the Internal Revenue Service urged us to separate the Gillette Hayden Fund from AAWD. It is now the Gillette Hayden Memorial Foundation, a 501c(3). The monies are managed by trustees, who must be members of AAWD and are often past presidents of the organization and, thereby, familiar with its history. The memorial foundation no longer has a student loan program. Recently, the foundation has been involved in research grants and securing donations to a sister program, the Smiles for Success Foundation. Although the GHMF is a separate entity from AAWD, the foundation has as its mission to support educational, research and leadership programs of the AAWD and its membership.
Over the last nearly 100 years, there have been many strong and inspiring women in our association; however, Dr. Hayden was the first to put down the root system for this enormous tree that we have been growing. Without her and the Gillette Hayden Fund, I am not sure the association would have evolved from a social organization into the powerhouse of networking and professional support association that it is today.
AAWD was started, however, primarily for the social benefits of the few women attending dental meetings at that time. Of course, it did not take long for those social meetings to turn into deep friendships, which became the lifeblood of the group. As Dr. Margaret Dickerson stated in a speech for AAWD's 50th anniversary in 1971, it was Dr. Gilette Hayden who ultimately gave the association a soul.
Dr. Gillette Hayden, a 1902 graduate of Ohio State University, served as AAWD's third president. Devouted to the advancement of periodontia in dental practice, shoe founded the American Academy of Periodontology in 1914 along with Dr. Grace R. Spaulding, AAWD's sixth president.
She served as the second president of AAP and was the second person to receive the academy fellowship. After Dr. Hayden's death in 1929, AAWD established a loan fund, the Gillette Hayden Memorial Foundation, to aid promising women dental students. The American Academy of Periodontology dedicated its journal to her memory. "The present status of periodontia is largely due to her vision and unceasing labors. . . . Few have made more notable contributions to its progress, and no one was ever more interested in its success or gave it a more unselfish service."
Dr. Hayden was an inspiration to all who knew her. She inherited her activism and her humanitarianism from her mother, a feminist in those difficult days when women were first seeking a status higher than that of chattel. her great-grandfather, Dr. Horace Hayden, along with Dr. S.S. Harris, were the founders of the Baltimore School of Dental Surgery, now the University of Maryland, School of Dentistry, the first chartered dental college in the world. Dr. Hayden was a professional woman of the highest order. She dignified dentistry and was proud of her profession. Her skill level and love of humanity yielded an extremely successful clinical practice, with patients calling her their "best friend" after her death.
She did not confine her interests to dentistry, however. Dr. Hayden was a pioneer in many movements for the betterment of women. She was active in many civic organizations and business groups. During the years when American women were seeking the right to vote, Dr. Hayden continued the feminist activities of her own pioneer suffragette mother. When the amendment of the U.S. Constitution providing universal women's suffrage was best to be ratified by her own state of Ohio, Dr. Hayden relinquished her office to representatives form the national Women's Party so they would have a space in which to work and lobby members of the Ohio Legislature for ratification. In 1920 the Amendment was ratified by the Ohio Legislature and by three-fourths of the states; finally women had th right to vote.
Dr. Hayden's death in 1929 left AAWD members wanting to do something to keep the memory of this vivacious member alive forever. At the 1930 annual meeting in Denver, Colorado, with Dr. Mildred Dickerson as president, the Gillette Hayden Fund was born. Two hundred dollars was taken from the AAWD treasury to start the fund, and each succeeding president urged members to make voluntary contributions. The original purpose of the fund was to make loans to women dental students in their junior or senior years. The first loan was made to Helen Hayes Harmon, a junior at the University of Michigan. Dr. Harmon graduated in 1935, became an AAWD member, built a successful practice in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and promptly repaid her loan.
In the 1960s, the Internal Revenue Service urged us to separate the Gillette Hayden Fund from AAWD. It is now the Gillette Hayden Memorial Foundation, a 501c(3). The monies are managed by trustees, who must be members of AAWD and are often past presidents of the organization and, thereby, familiar with its history. The memorial foundation no longer has a student loan program. Recently, the foundation has been involved in research grants and securing donations to a sister program, the Smiles for Success Foundation. Although the GHMF is a separate entity from AAWD, the foundation has as its mission to support educational, research and leadership programs of the AAWD and its membership.
Over the last nearly 100 years, there have been many strong and inspiring women in our association; however, Dr. Hayden was the first to put down the root system for this enormous tree that we have been growing. Without her and the Gillette Hayden Fund, I am not sure the association would have evolved from a social organization into the powerhouse of networking and professional support association that it is today.
Written by Mary Martin, DDS, MED
Smiles for Success President (2019)
AAWD Past President (1995 and 2016)
Dr. Martin has gone full circle in dentistry, with degrees in dental hygiene, dentistry and education. She started her career teaching Oral Diagnosis and Radiology and left after 20 years, at the level of Professor Emeritus, for a successful career in private practice with her husband, Dr. Steve Carson, as owners of Eagle Dental in Edmond, Oklahoma. In 2019 Dr. Martin returned to academia once again at the Professor level at the University of Oklahoma.
Smiles for Success President (2019)
AAWD Past President (1995 and 2016)
Dr. Martin has gone full circle in dentistry, with degrees in dental hygiene, dentistry and education. She started her career teaching Oral Diagnosis and Radiology and left after 20 years, at the level of Professor Emeritus, for a successful career in private practice with her husband, Dr. Steve Carson, as owners of Eagle Dental in Edmond, Oklahoma. In 2019 Dr. Martin returned to academia once again at the Professor level at the University of Oklahoma.