Approaching from the perspective of social and historical construction, the article addresses the professionalization of dentistry in Argentina from the late nineteenth century to 1940. The study analyzes the weight of different actors and dimensions, particularly the introduction of dentistry studies into Argentinean universities and the conflicts between dentists and those in related fields (especially physicians, mecánicos dentales, and informal practitioners like barbers and bleeders) as well as conflicts with the State. The article explores the union, political, and academic strategies developed in an effort to define a space for exclusive intervention, and also looks at the earliest successes in tracing out a specific domain that would ensure professional autonomy and monopoly in the practice of dentistry. A review of documentation reveals the weight of craftsmanship and the mercantile tradition in dental practice, very limited collective participation in the union environment, and the field's weak commitment to public health.

Este artículo aborda el proceso de profesionalización de la odontología en Argentina, a partir de fines del siglo XIX hasta 1940, desde una perspectiva de construcción social e histórica. El análisis permite identificar el peso de diversos actores y dimensiones, principalmente la incorporación de la enseñanza de la odontología en las universidades del país, las conflictivas relaciones con otras ocupaciones y profesiones del campo, en especial con los médicos, con los mecánicos dentales, con ejercientes irregulares (barberos, sangradores ) y con el estado. Se indaga en las estrategias gremiales, políticas y académicas desarrolladas desde distintas instancias para obtener la delimitación de un espacio de intervención exclusiva. Además, puede verificarse en la documentación revisada, el peso de la tradición artesanal y mercantil de la práctica odontológica, la escasa participación colectiva en el ámbito gremial y el débil compromiso con la salud pública.

Este artigo mostra como a demarcação deste campo de conhecimento, a odontologia, se articulou com a legislação que a constituiu como profissão entre as práticas de saúde na Argentina, do final do século XIX até a década de 1930. Analisa-se a relação que as associações profissionais mantiveram com as instâncias de formação e legitimação social e jurídica da prática profissional. Numa abordagem que privilegia a construção social, o artigo recupera aspectos sociológicos, antropológicos e históricos do processo de profissionalização e procura identificar atores e modelos de conhecimento relacionados com ele. Focaliza sobretudo a dinâmica da definição de uma área específica que precisou superar obstáculos para adquirir o monopólio de uma prática, alijando profissionais de outras áreas e mantendo uma relação ambivalente com a medicina e o Estado.

Focusing on the period from the close of the 19th century to the 1930s, the article reveals the interplay between the establishment of a particular field of knowledge - in this case, dentistry - and regulatory legislation in Argentina. The analysis explores professional associations and their relations with degree-granting institutions, the regulation of dental practice, and the social and legal legitimization of the field. Emphasizing issues of social construction, the article examines sociological, anthropological, and historical aspects of the process of professionalization and endeavors to identify the actors and models of knowledge involved. Above all, the article looks at the dynamics entailed in defining an area that had to overcome obstacles to gain monopoly of a practice. In so doing, other health-care practitioners were shut out while relations between the medical field and the State were governed by ambivalence.