Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-02-16
IN BLUE
Will Be One of the Features Of Our
Army.
10 CARE FOR SOLDIERS TEETH
They VIII Have the Rank of First
Lieutenant.
A DECD ED INNOVATION

A ID T. 4 ID T. ID IN NOV A11ON
Written for The Evening Star.
The corps of dental surgeons just added to
our army by the new reorganization act
will be decided novelty in the military
world. BY resolving to take scrupulous
care of his soldier boys teeth Uncle Sam
has set other armed nations praiseworthy
example.
These military dentists will number
thirty in all-hardly enough to keep the
cutting. tearing and grinding organs of a
| hundred thousand beef-eaters intact, it
would seem. The most of them will short
ly be dispatched to the Philippines. A few
will be sent to the West Indies. They must
all be graduates of standard medical or
| dental colleges and must be trained in all
| branches of modern dentistry. The new
| law further stipulates that they must be of
good moral character" Surgeon General
Sternberg is overwhelmed with applica-
lions from dentists throughout the United
States, all anxious to enlist in the corps.
He has already appointed three dental spe-
cialists, who will constitute board for
the examination and supervision of the
twenty-seven others provided for. The APP
pointments of the latter will be equally
distributed among the states. The three
examining dental surgeons WILL in a few
days, proceed to Indianapolis or some other
western city. to look into the fitness of
the applicants
Tempting, indeed, are the openings to
young dentists offered by these new offices.
No wonder. therefore, that the applicants
are enthusiastic and abundant. Amy sort
of army commission is always tempting to
the majority of the male element. More
over Uncle Sam is always sure to pay his
bills.
Will Wear n Uniform.
The military dental surgeon will enjoy
the relative rank of a first lieutenant
He will be permitted to wear the uniform
of first lieutenant Of the staff. but with
shoulder straps and ornaments in silver
instead Of gold. His shoulder straps will
be of dark blue cloth 1as inches wide by
inches long, bordered with embroidery
of silver At each end of this framework
will stand forth single bar embroidered
in silver. Between these bars will be the
letters I'D. S." also embroidered in silver
Each side of his collar will be adorned by
a silver embroidered cross.
One hundred and fifty dollars a month
will be the salary attached to each of the
new offices, excepting those Of the three
supervising dental surgeons. The latter
will receive $21O per month for their addi-
tional responsibilities. Five dollars a day
will be generous pay for the twenty-seven
dentists of ordinary rank They will have
all of their instruments and materials fur
nished gratis. They will have no office
rent 10 pay. 1ney Will SuUer no Qull sea-
SON. drawbacks; no necessity of hustling
for patrons. But they will be confronted by
plenty of hard work. All of this work will,
of course, mean valuable experience cal
expert in his profession. The term Of SER
vice will be three years, at the end of which
time resignation and the assumption of
private practice will be in order. if desired.
The new corps will be supplied with
the most modern of equipment. The
supervising dental surgeons of the
corps will prepare supply table, enum-
Grating all of the improved paraphernalia of
the most up-to-date dental parlor'' to be
found in any of our cities. Shortly there
will be packed aboard an army transport
and shipped to our new possessions the
most improved operating chairs forceps.
files, hammers, drills, rubber dams, and
such pleasure-inspiring sundries, to be pur-
chased from the instrument makers of the
country.
Soldiers Teeth Now Neglected.
Today the soldier boy with toothache re-
spends to the sick call and reports to the
hospital surgeon for drops wherewith to
berumb his throbbing nerve. He returns for
more and more drops Finally, as last
resort, he asks the surgeon to pull the
troublesome member. The obligng surgeon
has never had dentistry added to his
riculum, but he has an emergency case
of forceps in his tool kit, as has been the
custom since 10, these many years. He en-
succeed the first time he continues until
successful All Of this takes place without
the comforts of an operating chair or of
the soothing gas. However, at some of our
army posts, am told, there have long been
privates or non-commissioned officers Of the
hospital corps who pride themselves on
their skill as tooth repairers and tooth
snatchers" Very much the same condi-
ton obtains in the navy. The surgeon
aboard each warship carries a dental case
containing forceps, Elevators and lancets,
but no instruments for filling the ration
grinders of jackieS.
When examining men for admission into
his army Uncle Sam is somewhat particu-
lar to the condition of their teeth. But
these stipuations refer solely to ability to
masticate food Beauty and ceanness of
teeth cannot, for practical reasons, be
made standard of military fitness. If the
applicant for enlistment has not enough |
teeth wherewith to thoroughly chew his ra-
tons the examining surgeon throws him |
out Many recruits are disappointed when |
they learn that the all-seeing medical ex-
aniiners do not regard false teeth as equiv |
alents of the natural chewing organs be- |
queathed by nature
During the civil war and previously bad |
teeth were especially frowned upon by the |
medical examiners. because they rendered
the soldier unable to chew "hardtack." In |
deed, those biscuits. longer an item OF
our army ration. were so hard that the |
brave boys Of those times used to wear |
them under their blouses as provisional
shields for the protection Of their ''vitals." |
During the different drafts OF the civil |
war native Americans were disqualified |
from service on account of bad teeth at |
the rate of 80 per 1000. Indeed. bad teeth |
was second in order OF frequency upon the |
list of causes for disqualification. After |
the war the statistics of the examining sur
geons were arranged in tables. which
showed. among other interesting facts. that
the teeth Of the bachelor recruits were far
better on an average, than those Of the |
married men, and that brunettes were
more sound in respect to their chewing
apparatus than blondes
Pulled Out Teeth to Escape Draft.
veteran army surgeon tells me. in this
connection, of some of the means resorted
to by drafted men to escape service. "A