The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1904-06-29
CARE OF SOLDIERS TEETH.
Necessary Precaution to Keep the Men
in Good Health and Fight
ing Condition.

ing Condition.
After much study, the British war Of
hce has appointed eight dental sur
geons who are to aid in maintaining
the courage and the temper of the ar
my. Interesting as is the announce
ment, England is considerably behind
the United States in learning the i'm
portance of caring for soldiers teeth,
In the first place states the New
York Times, we have had these impor-
tant adjuncts to the medical corps since
Februtry 2, 1901, when the law Official
~ creating them was passed. The law
stipulated that there should be one den
fist for every 1000 soldiers and ON
GERS. AS the law has been in force for
over three years, and the wisdom of its
passage has become daily more mani
fest, the. limit of the number of dentists
allowed for the army Is already nearly
reached
In this country secondary consid-
Grafton, quite naturally following the
first, has bobbed up-an effort OH the
part of the dentists to be admitted into
the army as commissioned officers. At
the present time they are merely legal
lied aids to the medical corps under
the jurisdiction of the army surgeons.
When Gen. Miles signed the order
for the appointment of dentists it had
been discovered that however we'll the
natives of the Philippines and Cuba
preserved their teeth in warm climates
our soldiers suffered severely. AS soon
as regiment reached the tropics its
officers and men began to have trouble
with their teeth.
The trouble, however, was the re-
suit Of intestinal disorders. The med
ical men who were behind the bill
creating the dentists understood this,
and useful as the dentists are to any
army in any land, they have proved
especially so to American soldiers, bc-
cause of the new possessions and the
physical ailments following upon their
arrival there.
| While the law stipulated that not
more than one dentist for every 900
soldiers should be appointed, it sllowed
them to be sent in whatever quota was
deemed necessary to whatever points
| needed them most. AS result we now
have in Cuba and the Philippines a
regular army of scientists, so large as
to put to shame the recent appoint
ment of eight tooth doctors of the
United Kingdom.
So important is this army depart
ment that it seems surprising how 1t
has remained to be established until
SO recent date Army officers declare
with one voice that there is no such
thing as courageous fighting force
with bad teeth, but it is solemn truth
to which the powers of the world seem
just waking up.
II think that most people will
agree" said an army surgeon the 9th
er day, chat dyspepsia is not condu-
Give to gallantry and dash. With your
heart beating violently, your head in
whirl and your stomach affected as
by the heaving sea, you cannot expect
your nerves to be in condition proper
for successful action in modern war
fare. For that man must be abso-
luteiy fit. If the soldiers teeth are
bad, and he is inclined, to dyspepsia in
peace and comfort, what will he be
when his meals are rough and irregu-
lar? Unless 'molars' and grinders are
in good order, it must mean that be-
| fore long the man will be permanently
on the sick list.
AS matter of fact, it is quite ap-
palling how many would-be recruits
have TO be refused because of the con-
dition of their teeth, and the war office
in this country, as we'll as the enc in
England. is to be congratulated upon
the steps it is taking to insure good
teeth in soldiers. The common adage,
No foot, no horse might well be par
APPRAISED into no teeth, no man
while not abreast of us in the mat
ter of army dentists, Great Britain is
a step in advance of us in that 1t is,
4 as understand, going to the fountain
head in the matter, and is trying to en-
force law which requires the exami-
nation of the teeth of boys in boarding
schools. In teeth. as in everything
else, the boy is the father of the man.
A generation bred from dyspeptics
means people whose shattered consti-
tutions will crowd our hospitals and
asylums. The strain of modern exist
ence is often put down as the sole
cause of modern lunacy 1t is, no
doubt, contributing factor, but be-
lieye very much of it is due to neglect
ed teeth, accentuated in two or three
generations.
II attribute vast percentage of the
deterioration in the national physique
in England, about which so much has
been said, to bad teeth. Were l multi
millionaire l would found more dental
hospitals instead of libraries
In Sunny Ceylon.