Finding out where the local dentist went is kind of like...pulling teeth.

Isle La Motte residents were being informed that Dr. Ira E. Pike, their dentist, was in Canada on this day in 1879. Dentistry in the 19th century was nothing like dentistry today, and more often than not, was a mobile profession.

Many areas throughout Vermont didn't have a dentist, and Vermont was not unique. What little education a dentist could receive was usually passed down from other dentists or self-taught.

It was announced that Dr. Pike was pulling teeth in Lacolle, in the province of Quebec, for the entire week. He had arrived in Lacolle upon completing similar duties in Clarenceville, Quebec, and would be home soon.

Postcard courtesy the Vermont Historical Society.

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