Dr. Faith Sai So Leong became the first Chinese American woman to graduate from a dental school and practice dentistry in the U.S.
In 1905, Dr. Faith Sai So Leong became the first Chinese American woman to graduate from a dental school and practice dentistry in the U.S.
Dr. Leong, a Chinese immigrant, was adopted by an English teacher in San Francisco at age 13. Educated, dexterous and mechanically minded, Leong was encouraged to pursue dentistry by a dentist cousin.
Her primary clientele was in San Francisco’s Chinese-American community. When the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake, she relocated with that community to Oakland while the city was being rebuilt, and returned to San Francisco in 1910. Sadly, Leong’s life was cut short when she was hit by a car in 1929 at age 45.
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Source: Sindecuse Museum of Dentistry
Credit: Photos: Faith Sai So Leong, courtesy of University of the Pacific.
