The Tufts Dental College Class of 1942, with Esther Kaplan Colchamiro* standing in the center of the front row. Photo: Tufts Archival Research Center
In the Colchamiro house there are several dentists. Today I highlight Esther Colchamiro (daughter of Mollie and David Kaplan - see family tree), who had the distinguished career in the dental profession starting in 1938.
In her six-decade career, Dr. Esther Kaplan Colchamiro cared for those who needed it most, as the article writes in March 2023: At 104, Esther Kaplan Colchamiro, D42, can’t readily recall the details. But in the fall of 1938 she found herself arriving in Boston to enroll at what was then known as Tufts Dental College, located in a red brick building at 416 Huntington Ave. * She instantly stood out: a class photo shows a petite figure with a wide smile in an almost school girlish white blouse and dark skirt, with dozens of male classmates towering above her. It would be about 30 years before women began attending dental school in significant numbers. You can see the entire Tufts Now article here. There are many more photos within the article.
Another writing about Dr. Esther Colchamiro is found in the New York State Dental Journal, January 1983. It is entitled: A Memoir, Forty Years and Four Careers by Esther K. Colchamiro, D.M.D., M.P.H. An interesting memoir about getting started as a dentist, marveling at her first $100 day (much more today I am certain), at her first practice on the corner of 42nd street and Broadway in New York City. For $35 a month, she became a "full-fledged" practicing dentist in a choice location, according to her writings.
Dr. Samuel Lee and Dr. Stephen Colchamiro
We have other family members who are dentists. Dr. Stephen Colchamiro (retired), who went to Harvard Dental School, see link. My grandson Dr. Samuel Lee, a graduate of Harvard Dental School with further dental education at Uconn. He now teaches part-time at Harvard as Lecturer on Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials Sciences. He is in a prosthodontist practice in Duxbury, MA.
To keep it further in the family, Dr. Mia Rosso is a graduate of Tufts Dental College and married to Dr. Samuel Lee. They both work in Massachusetts. There seems to be a family theme here.
There is a long line of Colchamiros in the dental profession. I hope by this blog I will hear from more of the family about other dental professionals in our family.
We are humbled to write about these people in the Colchamiro family.