1887-1974
Mabel F Thomas was an early female dentist in Newark. She worked for Dr. C A Spahn and then practiced on her own.
Mable began practicing on her own after graduating the Thomas Evans Institute of University of Pennsylvania as one of only five women in 1918. She was a specialist in orthodontic straightening, working mostly with children. “Helping teeth grow in the right way is more of a constructive work than the repairing of broken down teeth,” she said, “and I therefore find greater satisfaction in specializing in this phase of dentistry,”
She’s listed in the city directories under Newark dentists from at least 1920 to 1942.
Mabel was president of the Quota Club in Newark and the Association of American Woman Dentists (1950), and also active in the Altrusa Club. Born in Ohio, she lived in East Orange most of her life.
Bibliography
Wingert, Dorothea. “Her Work As Dentists Aide Paved Way for Own Career” Newark Sunday Call Oct 31, 1926.
“Dr. Mabel F. Thomas, South Orange Dentist, 86” Star Ledger May 4, 1974
T-10, Thomas Mabel, Newark News Morgue, Newark Library