The Lion Dental Center,opened in 1927

Chapter 2Contributing to thedevelopmentof dental treatments
Dental treatment activities
In addition to promoting oral hygiene through such initiatives as the Lion Lecture
Meetings, Kobayashi was committed to dental treatment, establishing Japan's firstdental clinic for children, and advancing preventive dentistry.
20

W.C. Eastlake, the first American
dentist to journey to Japan, in 1860.
When the American opened hispractice in Yokohama, Yasube
Hasegawa worked as his assistantbefore becoming a dentist himself.
R e p r i n t e d f ro m " T h e 1 0 0 - Ye a r
History of The Tokyo Dental Association" published by the Tokyo DentalAssociation.

The dawn of moderndentistry in JapanThe latest treatment methods, learned from a foreign dentist
In the 1890s when Tomijiro Kobayashi & Co. began selling Lion Dentifrice, dentistry in Japan was just entering the modern age. Up until thattime, dental care had been provided by practitioners of traditional Chinese
medicine, tooth extraction specialists, people who made dentures, andothers. However, after Japan's seclusion ended in 1854, a number of western dentists came to Japan, opened practices to serve foreign residents (andtices interested in learning western techniques. The Meiji government wasin a hurry to modernize the country, so in 1875 it initiated an exam based on
Obata, who studied under western doctors, became Japan's first dentist, thenumber of dentists grew steadily. By 1903, when the Dainippon Dental Association (now the Japan Dental Association), the first such national organization, was founded, the total number of dentists nationwide had reached394. By 1907, membership had increased rapidly to 1,913 dentists. By then,Dental treatment activities

western medicine for those seeking to practice medicine. After Einosuke

Chapter 2later, Japanese) in Yokohama and elsewhere, and took on Japanese appren-dental clinics had been established in most major cities of Japan.

21

The Lion Dental Clinic For
Children opened in theGinza district of Tokyo in1921.

A dental clinic
for children in JapanThe Lion Dental Clinic For Children opens
While dental clinics were opening in various places, Lion initiated its
dental treatment activities by establishing Japan's first specialized dental
clinic for children. Ichitaro Kamiya, the director of Kobayashi at the time,
got the idea after visiting various specialized dental clinics for children in
the U.S.A. He was deeply impressed by institutions such as The Forsythe
Dental Infirmary for Children in Boston and the Rochester Dental DispenChapter 2sary in New York. "I want to establish a similar facility in Japan," hewould say. Some people at the company thought it was premature, but Mr.
Kamiya's enthusiasm led to plans for the Lion Dental Clinic For Children.

Dental treatment activities

However, unexpected objections were raised by the area's dental association, because at the time, many practitioners were experiencing difficulties due to the depression following the First World War, and some wereworried that this new clinic might put even more pressure on their businesses. So Mr. Kamiya, along with Sosaku Midorikawa, who was incharge of the Lion Lecture meetings, persisted in saying that the purposeof the dental clinic was to help society by providing "dental cleaning andcaries prevention for children." Three months later, they were finally able
to open the clinic.

22

The Lion Dental Clinic For Children
opened after the Great Kanto Earthquakeand offered specialized service free ofcharge.

About 540,000 children
treated over 12 years
The first director of The Lion Dental Clinic For Children, Kiyofusa Okamoto, joined Kobayashi at that time, and later was active in promoting dentistry activities at schools. The clinic had three dentists who began treating
patients in 1921. A specialized imported dentist's chair fit the bodies of theyoung patients and the facilities were gradually enhanced, as x-ray andother equipment was introduced, along with additional dental specialists.
When the clinic first opened, it served around 45 patients per day, but a year
dence in the facility grew, and by 1933, 12 years later, the number of children treated had reached the 540,000 mark.

The big earthquake that struck Tokyo on September 1, 1923 also seriously
damaged the Lion Dental Clinic For Children. The devastation was so complete that the clinic's rooftop flag went up in flames, along with the rest of
the building, but the consensus of the staff was that relief efforts should take

Dental treatment activities

Relief activities after The Great Kanto Earthquake

Chapter 2

later it was serving around 120 patients per day. As years passed, confi-priority over rebuilding the clinic. They quickly formed three dental relief
teams, then set up and operated free dental clinics for the next month at
three locations in the city. These simple, tent-covered clinics provided treatment and reassurance to about 7200 victims of the disaster.
23

Oral hygiene nurses also
played a part at the LionDental Clinic For Children.

Training Japan's
first oral hygiene nurses
Preceding government policy by 20 years
The Lion Dental Clinic For Children provided more than just dental
treatments. It also served as a new base for a broad range of oral healthpromotion activities, including guidance for school teaching staff, traveling clinics, and the Lion Children's Rally. Moreover, Japan's first oral hygiene nurses, the predecessors of present-day dental hygienists, weretrained there. In the U.S.A. at that time, oral hygiene nurses were effecChapter 2
Dental treatment activities
24

tively "associate dentists." Anticipating the need for such workers inJapan, the clinic started a training course with specialized classes on anatomy, pathology, and nursing science. From 1922 to 1938, the facility sent
29 oral hygiene nurses out into the world, long before the national government began training dental hygienists in 1949.
The great actress Yasue Yamamoto managed to work
as a Lion oral hygiene nurse between acting rehearsals.
In 1922, she was a member of the Modern Drama Actress Training
School, supervised by second-generation kabuki actor Sadanji
Ichikawa. She went on to receive the Minister of Education Awardfor her performance in the drama "Yuzuru" and achieved great success as a stage actress.

The treatment room at theNakayama Taiyodo Oral Hygiene
Research Center in Osaka.
Reprinted from "Club Cosmetics
100-Year History - Many Flowers
Blooming" published by Club
Cosmetics Co., Ltd.

Activities by private
businesses expand
Oral health promotion activities by Club Cosmetics
The vigorous oral health promotion activities had also spread among
other toothpaste makers. In particular, Nakayama Taiyodo (now Club Cosmetics Co., Ltd.), makers of Club Toothpaste, established the Oral Hygiene
Research Center inside the Nakayama Cultural Research Center in 1923.
Members of this organization focused mainly on encouraging children tobrush their teeth, but also operated traveling dental clinics that visitedbases, etc. to lecture and screen films on oral hygiene. In 1927, the Club
Mobile Dental Treatment Team started touring schools around the country
do also opened a dental clinic in Osaka, where the company’s headquarters
were, for training women who wanted to work in or learn more about oral
hygiene, dental care and dentistry. This comprehensive facility wasequipped for dental preservation, oral surgery, child dentistry and x-raywork. Although the Nakayama Cultural Research Center closed in 1954, it

Dental treatment activities

in a vehicle equipped with dental treatment instruments. Nakayama Taiyo-Chapter 2schools around Japan, and visited company offices, factories, military

made its mark on the history of oral health promotion in Japan.

25

The Lion Dental Clinic For
Children in 1927, after relocating
to Yotsuya.

Preventive dentistry startsahead of its time
The Lion Dental Center opens
After the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1927, the Lion Dental Clinic For
Children relocated to Yotsuya Mitsuke, Yotsuya-ku. With better facilities
and more equipment than were originally imaginable, such as treatment,
filling, orthodontics and x-ray departments, this medical care system wascapable of covering all children's dental care needs. In addition, the Lion
Dental Center established an educational agency at the clinic to promote
Chapter 2awareness of oral hygiene even more. Efforts focused on promoting mouthcleaning and tartar removal to prevent periodontal disease. This was thebeginning of preventive dentistry, currently a major trend, and the precursor

Dental treatment activities

to the Grand Tokyo Oral Health Care Station that opened at Tokyo Stationin 2013.

The founding of theLion Dental Hygiene Research Institute
The Lion Dental Clinic For Children was forced to shut down during theSecond World War, due to lack of materials. The Lion Foundation for
Dental Health founded in 1964 resumed the role of the clinic.

26

The Lion Family Dental Clinic,
located inside the Shinjuku Keio
Department StoreCreating a world-leadingdentistry center
The non-profit Lion Foundation for Dental Health consists of a department that provides health guidance to various organizations, and anotherdepartment that provides specialized medical care and counseling for children. Among its activities, the Center opened the Lion Family Dental
Clinic in Shinjuku Keio Department Store in 1964. With a full staff including 15 dentists and 15 dental hygienists, as well as 10 state-of-the-art
examination tables, this clinic thrived so well and so quickly that everyone
Among visitors to the clinic department was an elderly man wanderingin using a back scratcher. He had received treatment at the first Lion
deeply rooted Lion's original childrens’ dental clinic concept had becomein society.
At the time, only four facilities in the world, including the Lion Family
Dental Clinic, undertook research and also provided prevention care anddental treatment. In 1966, the Lion Family Dental Clinic in Nagoya

Dental treatment activities

Dental Clinic For Children founded in 1921. Such scenes showed how

Chapter 2

who worked there was overjoyed at its success.

became the fifth. Lion's dental clinic organization was a leading establishment, not only in Japan, but worldwide.

27

Tokyo Dental Clinic customizes
leading-edge treatments forpatients.

Dental treatment evolves
Improving dental professionals’ qualifications
Lion's dental treatment-related activities continued to evolve. In 1971, theOsaka Lion Family Corner specializing in caries prevention among children
opened on the first floor of what is now the Lion Co., Ltd. Osaka office.
The clinic provides a full range of treatments, and has grown into the Osaka
Oral Health Station serving everyone from children to the elderly.
The Lion Family Dental Clinic, after relocating from Shinjuku Keio
Chapter 2Department Store to Meguro, then moved to Gotanda district in 2014 andwas renamed the Tokyo Dental Clinic.
The clinic is fully equipped with the latest facilities, such as wheelchair-Dental treatment activities

accessible care rooms and monitoring rooms, where blood pressure, electrocardiograms, etc. can be monitored during treatment. The facility has also
initiated risk control dentistry for measuring patients’ risk levels for cavities
and periodontal disease, and providing individualized treatments and prevention. The clinic also regularly holds seminars for dental professionals, helping them improve their qualifications, upgrade their technology and continue
to meet the challenges of the evolving dental care field.

28

Looking back on Chapter 2

Lion protects oral healthCorporations very rarely contribute to society in ways that reachbeyond their business, even in fields as far-reaching as the medical
field. Lion, however, has been doing just that for around 100 years,
having established Japan's first specialized dental clinic for children.
By matching the high commitment of earlier company members toserve human well-being, as well as the great courage to meet the challenges of the unknown, the company leads the way in evolving dental
Chapter 2

care in Japan, supporting the oral and overall health of many people.

Dental treatment activities
29