Painless Parker
Dentist, Deceased Person
1872 – 1952
Who was Painless Parker?
Edgar R.R. "Painless" Parker was a flamboyant street dentist described as "a menace to the dignity of the profession" by the American Dental Association and yet “much of what he championed – patient advocacy, increased access to dental care and advertising – has come to pass in the US.” He attended Philadelphia Dental College which would become Temple University dental school. After 6 weeks without a single patient, Parker decided to advertise. He hired one of P.T. Barnam’s ex-managers to help him take his practice on the road. He created the Parker Dental Circus, a traveling medicine show with his dental chair on a horse-drawn wagon while a band played. The band attracted large crowds and hid the moans and cries of patients who were given whiskey or a cocaine solution that he called “hydrocaine” to numb the pain. He charged 50 cents for each extraction and promised that if it hurt, he’d pay the patient $5.
At one point he claimed to have pulled 357 teeth in one day, which he strung on a necklace.
He legally changed his first name to "Painless", when he was accused of breaking a false advertisement law by claiming that his dentistry was truly painless.
We need you!
Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!
Citation
Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Painless Parker." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 May 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/painless_parker>.
Discuss this Painless Parker biography with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In