Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-07-05
DENTAL WORK ON
THE BATTLEFRONT
Major William c. Speakrnan Tells
What is Being Accomplished
in the War.

Major William G, Speakman, d. r. c.,
L. ). A.. of Wilmington. contributes the
following interesting article to the April
number Of the journal of the Association
Of Military Dental Surgeons of the United
States, the caption being War DENTS
try:
Soldiers to the number of division and
half have been kept at the front,
through the services of the dental sur
gson. THIS statement WAS made 10 me one
Sunday morning IN early 1916, by an
official Of the War Department in Paris,
whom | met in 1915 during my service IN
hat wear, and upon whom | called to in
form him / had returned to France, and
had brought from America a fully equip
ped dental field ambulance in other
words an operating room on wheels.
You could not have brought to France
= more welcome gift. My friend went
quite nj length 10 tell me how his own
dentist. professor IN the Ecole Dentaire
of PARIS had suggested such ears To the
iental profession. and was the instigator
IN outiitting the first that were sent.
Mr. Herbert Cory. an American news
paper correspondent, IS early as 1918 saw
the enorInotns need of we'll conditioned
mouths AT the front We happened To r.
turn 10 America ON the same boat IN that
wear. and had many talks about the dental
conditions in the army. the hospital
service q; the dental surgeons. and the re-
sub that he was obtaining IN the 50
t;iIled Jsw CASES. 81 that II did not take
much urging upon the part of an American
Nmbulance official for me Ia design, equip
and take 10 France the dental ambulance.
! also found supply houses most eager TO
contribute to the supplies which | took
with me. and could have filled the car
many times over through their generosity
When | returned Ia France with the
ar. | again met MIR Cory. and together
We VISITED both the French and English
taTs and cnnyerSssd with their crews. All
this. and his conversation with me, led
To story To his American papers. IN
which he started out with the assertion
that division and a half had been kept
At the front through our efforts, = state
ment which had made u him He went
On to say that today the dental surgeons
are taking their kits back OF and INTO the
lines. where they are giving men relief,
and making InastIcatory surface Tor
them. directly under FIRE
The dentist IS becoming almost as
much of an army authority rs an army
ginning of the war England tried TO re
strict the enlistment of her men 10 those
with sound teeth As We are trying tn do a;
The present time. but she found the need
oi men was too great and the bars were LEI
down. France had too many greater things
70 worry about. and she took her men as
they came, even if they were toothlcSS
But after the furry OF the first few months
he war began to settle down into bust
ness, the authorities, who insisted that the
wounded man who teeth were bad made
retar led recovery. Men were sent home on
sick lesre whose only trouble was their
molars. When they were fixed up, the
man got well, and it became evident that
the soldiers teeth must be cared Aor.
The t4Ine-worn and tirrssd-bare ssser-
ton Of Napoleon that "the arm traYels
On its belly" has been supplsnted' by the
assertion that recently appeared in this
Journal, that "a soldier travels on his