Benjamin Franklin and the dentist: the story of R. C. Skinner

Among Benjamin Franklin's papers was a letter from a young British immigrant, R. C. Skinner, asking for a loan of only twenty dollars to help this young man begin the practice of dentistry in this country. Although we don't know what the great man's response was to this appeal, Skinner went on to achieve fame in his profession. He was the first dentist ever, in this country, to be appointed to a hospital staff; he established the first free dental clinic for the poor; and he authored the first book on dentistry ever published in America, earning him the title "The Father of American Dental Literature." From a newspaper advertisement of 1794, further information has been gleaned about Skinner's practice: he not only did conventional dentistry, but also supplied missing eyes, ears, noses and legs. This was a forerunner of the contemporary subspecialty of prosthodontics termed "maxillofacial prosthetics". An interesting list of Skinner's services and his fees for each, gives us a good picture of what dentistry was like in Colonial America.