Doc Holliday’s Contributions To Dentistry
The Old West probably doesn’t seem like a time of great advances in medicine and dentistry, but as Doc Holliday proves, the frontier period was a time when ingenuity and medical expertise were in high demand. Although there was always a danger of falling victim to poorly trained charlatans, there were many men and women like Doc Holliday who did the best they could under difficult circumstances and in some cases, found inventive solutions to complicated problems.
Doc Holliday, legendary gunman and famed companion of Wyatt Earp, was one such pioneer. Despite a tragically short life, Doc Holliday’s contributions to dentistry are still written about today.
Here in Oklahoma, the legacy of the Old West is all around us. That’s why at Grand Lake Dental, Dr. Jobst and the entire staff appreciate the accomplishments of the early medical trailblazers like Doc Holliday, who helped make today’s modern advances in dental care possible.
Who was Doc Holliday?
Born John Henry Holliday in 1851, Doc Holliday is best known as a gambler, gunfighter, and close friend of Wyatt Earp. Perhaps he’s most famous for his involvement in the shootout at the O.K. Corral. Previous to this, he had earned a reputation for killing dozens of men at various locations over different disputes, but in reality most of these deaths were fictional in nature. Historians now believe Holliday can only certifiably be linked to the slaying of between one to three men.
As a young man, Holliday was diagnosed with tuberculosis. This was the same condition that had killed his mother when Holliday was only fifteen years old. In fact, it was likely that while caring for his mother, he had contracted the illness himself. He moved to the American Southwest hoping that the warm, dry climate would help his condition.
He passed through Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, and Arizona as a traveling gambler. At one point, he rescued Wyatt Earp from a confrontation with a number of armed men who were angry with Earp. Holliday, who was playing cards at the time, drew his gun and aimed it at the head of one of the men, helping to defuse the situation without any bloodshed. Afterwards, Earp and Holliday became lifelong friends.
A few years later, Earp and Holliday were involved in the shootout at the O.K. Corral. As they attempted to disarm several outlaws when a 30-second shootout occurred, and three of the outlaws were killed by Holliday and the Earp brothers. While it was determined that they had acted within their rights as officers of the law, an arrest warrant was eventually filed for Holliday, and he moved to Colorado to avoid extradition. It was there that his condition worsened, and at the age of 36, Doc Holliday died of tuberculosis.
You may be wondering what this has to do with dentistry. In fact, Doc Holliday got his name because he was a trained dentist, and while he is best known for his feats as a gambler and gunman, his reputation in the Old West was also built up by his early career as a dentist.
Doc Holliday, Dentist of the Old West
Prior to his exploits as a famed gunfighter, Holliday had established himself as a dentist in his home state of Georgia. Born to well off parents, he was well educated as a youth, studying all of the classical subjects, including math, rhetoric, grammar, history, Latin, French, and Ancient Greek.
At age 19, Holliday moved to Philadelphia and enrolled in the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery. This was an esteemed institution in the 1800’s, and known for being the second oldest dental school in the United States. It was a sign of the times that his father urged him to become a dentist rather than a doctor because it was considered a more “progressive and respectable” profession at the time.
His studies progressed quickly, and a year later, he’d completed his dental education. In fact, he finished too early, and he did not receive his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree for another five months because there was a minimum age requirement of 21 to practice dentistry in the state.
Following his graduation, Holliday returned to Atlanta where he joined the office of Dr. Arthur Ford to begin working as a dentist. Their office quickly grew to become the largest in the city. Unfortunately, it was not to last, as the symptoms associated with his tuberculosis were growing worse.
From Dentist To Gambler
With his health failing, it was recommended that Holiday leave the Southeast for a drier environment. He decided to relocate to Dallas, Texas. His first goal was to establish a new dental office there, and he partnered with a local dentist Dr. John Seeger. They soon had a thriving practice.
Once again, it would not last long. His coughing fits returned, and his health was increasingly a concern for his patients. As business declined, Holliday was forced to look for some other way to earn a living.
The same dexterity of hands and mind that had made him a good dentist were also useful for card games. As a child, he’d learned to gamble from Sophie Walton, a servant in his uncle’s household. He took these skills and became one of the Old West’s most famous gamblers, not to mention a gunslinger as well. Though in the ensuing years he would have some occasions to put his dental training to good use, he primarily made his way playing cards.
Your Grove, Oklahoma Dental Specialist
Thankfully, dentistry has come a long way since Doc Holliday’s time. Patients today can rest assured that Dr. Jobst and the entire staff at Grand Lake Dental have the most advanced training and equipment at our disposal, and our number one goal is to ensure the oral health of our Oklahoma community.
It’s no longer the Wild West when it comes to dentistry today. For the leading modern treatments and attentive care from committed professionals who make the health and well being of their patients the top priority, make an appointment today.