Good health helps you do your part! 🦷
Trench mouth, prevalent among troops during World War I, devastated soldiers' health. By the time World War II began, military leaders knew that poor dental hygiene caused severe consequences. To prevent the infections seen in WWI, toothbrushing became a mandatory daily routine for service personnel in WWII.
One million men took the Selective Service physical in 1941. Of those, 380,000 men failed to qualify for military service. Seventeen percent of those men did not meet the minimum standard—of having six opposing teeth! YIKES!
Hygiene kits issued to soldiers generally contained a toothbrush, tooth powder, soap, a razor, razor blades, a shaving brush, and miscellaneous other items.
From my Dad’s war journal: March 27, 1945—"Am at aid station now. My dental bridge fell out and Capt. Miller [battalion dentist] just put it back in.” Even at the young age of 22, my Dad already had a bridge.
Maxillofacial surgery procedures advanced during WWII as surgeons, dentists, and prosthetists worked together. Their efforts restored wounded soldiers' ability to speak, chew, and swallow, and reconstructed faces damaged by bullets and explosives.
The first female dentist in the Navy was Dr. Sara Krout. Born in Latvia, she served as a Red Cross dentist in WWI, then immigrated to the U.S. at the end of the war. During WWII, Dr. Krout enlisted in the Navy WAVES, Women Activated for Voluntary Emergency Service. She served as a dentist at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station and remained on active duty until 1946.
Prior to WWII, Americans used homemade remedies and tooth powders. Most Americans did not have a daily tooth brushing routine. The lack of education about dental care caused many people to believe that tooth decay, gum disease, and tooth loss were normal. People only visited the dentist when the pain became unbearable. I remember that all of my grandparents had false teeth. As a child, I thought that was normal, too, even though tooth care was routine in my home.
After experiencing the benefits of daily dental care, many returning U.S. soldiers brought the habit of daily toothbrushing home to their families.