Dr. James Edmund Garretson, MD, DDS Surgical Education. The Dental Cosmos. Vol 18, pp186–188. November, 1866

The field of oral surgery, the first recognized specialty of dentistry, was developed and introduced by American surgeon James Edmund Garretson, MD, DDS, and created out of a necessity to bridge the gap between dentistry and medicine. By combining dental and surgical education, Garretson’s vision was to equip his graduates with the knowledge and skill of oral surgeons: “the specialty to mean to the community the treatment of every disease of the mouth and associate parts, just as ophthalmic surgery means to the community the treatment of the hundred diseases of the eye, its cavity, and associate parts.” Garretson’s contributions to the field of oral surgery and his role as a pioneer in the creation of the specialty have helped forge a path for generations of surgeons to follow and expand the specialty of oral surgery.