Early Life and Education
- Born on August 14, 1893 in Jackson, Tennessee
- Youngest of five children
- Attended the Webb School of Knoxville, Tennessee after his mother's death in 1908
- Attended Northwestern University Dental School in 1919

Career and Contributions in Orthodontics
- Practiced dentistry in Arizona before moving to Denver and opening his own practice
- Developed the Nance Appliance to prevent upper first molars from moving forward after premature loss of the maxillary first primary molar
- Pioneered the development of serial extraction in the United States
- Described the concept of leeway space in human teeth
- Published a paper titled 'Limitations of Orthodontic Treatment' in 1947, summarizing his 17 years of orthodontic work

Recognition and Awards
- Diplomate of American Board of Orthodontics
- President and honorary member of the Charles H. Tweed Foundation
- President and honorary member of the Southern California Component of Edward H. Angle Society of Orthodontia
- Received the Albert H. Ketcham Memorial Award in 1963

Personal Life
- Married Julia Manning and later Florence Hays
- Involved in an accident while working in a copper mine in Miami, Florida
- Retired in 1948
- Died on April 3, 1964 at his home in Pasadena, California due to a heart attack

References and Published Work
- Wrote a paper in 1947 titled 'Limitations of Orthodontic Treatment'
- Adams, Mahlon (1964). Hayes N. Nance. Angle Orthodontist, 34: 327.
- Nance, Hays N. (April 1947). The limitations of orthodontic treatment - American Journal of Orthodontics and Oral Surgery, 33 (4): 177–223. doi:10.1016/0096-6347(47)90051-3. PMID20291149.