The first dentist in Yorkton was a Dr. Sharman, an itinerant dentist who set up a chair in the Royal Hotel.

After he left, Dr. Patrick took care of emergency extractions. Since there were no semi-narcotics to use for extraction, Dr. Swallow, in his book Ox Trails to Highways, noted that a "good slug of Johnnie Walker was given to numb the pain, and a teetotaler was at a disadvantage."

The next dentist to come to Yorkton was a Dr. McDonald, who not only practices dentistry, but was the bane of politicians as he attended every political meeting and heckled the speakers.

He was followed by a Dr. Caldwell, who drove his McLaughlin car from Timmins, Ontario to Yorkton, an unheard-of feat in those days. This event was used by the McLaughlin Company in its advertising to prove the dependability of their vehicles.

Dr. D. J. Brass came to Yorkton in 1913. Born in Ontario in 1881, he attended Northwestern University in Chicago and was an honor graduate in 1907. He established a practice in Hanley, Sask., and while there served as mayor for two years.

In 1913 he came to Yorkton and continued his practice until ill health forced his retirement in 1947.

He was a member of the senate of the University of Saskatchewan and was on the Council of Dental Surgeons of Saskatchewan.

He was on the board of the Yorkton Collegiate Institute for 27 years, and when the addition of a gym/assembly hall was built onto the Yorkton Collegiate it was named for Dr. Brass. Now the elementary school located on the grounds of the old Collegiate bears the name of Dr. Brass.

Dr. Brass was past president of the Yorkton Board of Trade (now the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce) and for many years was president of the Yorkton branch of the Canadian Red Cross.

Dr. Brass suffered a fatal heart attack in 1949.

Dr. Barnes, another prominent dentist in the earlier years, was born in Strathclair, Manitoba and came as a boy with his family first to Balcarres and then to Stornaway. He attended the old YCI and taught briefly at Stornoway.

He enrolled in the University of Toronto and in 1921 graduated with his degree in dentistry. On graduation he returned to Yorkton and set up a practice in the Patrick Block. He continued to practice until his retirement in 1964.

He served on the board of the hospital for a number of years, and was closely associated with St. Andrew's Church for 60 years, 40 of them as an elder of the church. He also belonged to the IOOF and the Rebekah Lodge for 50 years.

He died in February 1979 at the age of 83.

Dr. Wesley Wachtler came to Saskatchewan from Minneapolis, moving to Regina in 1918. From there he went to Yorkton where he practiced dentistry with Dr. Bond.

It is said that on his first day in the office, the doctors went for a swim. In his log book, Dr. Wachtler subsequently noted he had pulled one tooth and rescued one man from drowning.

An avid curler, he took part in national and international bonspiels and served on the board of directors of the Saskatchewn Curling Association in 1960-61.

Dr. Wachtler continued his practice of dentistry until his death in 1968. He was a philanthropist, and in his quiet way aided numerous needy families in the city.

According to files of the Saskatchewan Dental Association, these are the dentists who started practicing in Yorkton prior to 1928.