Bettie McKaig, DDS, who served as the first female president of the International College of Dentists in 2019, died Feb. 3 at age 70.
Dr. McKaig was also the American Dental Association's first female vice president from 1998-99, as well as the first female president of the North Carolina Dental Society in 1995-96.
Dr. McKaig earned bachelor's, master's and dental degrees from Chapel Hill-based University of North Carolina, where she later continued to serve as a faculty member.
"A passionate, strong woman, she forged new paths for female practitioners — both dentists and hygienists alike," Scott De Rossi, DMD, dean and professor at the UNC Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry, said of Dr. McKaig.
"I find myself wanting to continue explaining her impact, but I am not sure it is actually possible to articulate what Dr. McKaig has meant to the landscape of dental hygiene and dentistry at local and international levels, nor what she has meant to our school," Dr. De Rossi said.