[How to become a dentist in Sweden during the 19th century]

Two hundred years ago, in 1797, a decree from the Government stated that 50 so called "operators" within dentistry must undergo examination by the Royal Medical Board. It was only non-Swedish dentists who underwent examination until 1833, when the first Swedish citizen was approved as a dentist. He had been educated in France and in Germany. After 1840, the dental curriculum was based on private courses, such as lectures in anatomy, physiology and clinical training at a private dental practice. The result of the studies was dependent on the student's own initiative. When the Swedish Dental Association was founded in 1860, an organized and systematical work started in order to establish a Dental School run by the Government in Sweden. In 1898 this goal was reached.