DENTISTRY UNDER FIRE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 206, 20 May 1918, Page 7

DENTISTRY UNDER FIRE

WITH THE N|W ZEALAND

DENTAL CORPS

A SPLENDID RECORD

(From the- New Zealand Official Corre-

spondent, Captain Malcolm Ross.)

Northern France, March 13.

■ 1 remember in tho days that now seem iar away watching the shelling of the tented hospital near the beach at the No. 2 Outpost by a Turkish battery on the Gallipoli Peninsula On tho sido of tho low ridge that fronted tho blue Aegean a man was standing, taking snapshots at the bursting shells with a small hand camera I found he was an officer of the Now Zealand Dental Corps, connected with the Dsntal Hospital that had been established in .a couple of dugouts within easy rifle range of tho enemy trenches While ho was photographing, earth and timber and other things were Hying about. "That almost got you," remarked a man who was standing near. ■ Intent on his picture-making, the dentist did not notice what "W was. It was a .projectile of a rather gruesome description. I . Before this t'inie- tho Now Zealand dentists had already done a good deal of work under h'ro Two of (heir number had landed with the force in April, having with them only their forceps. Later, up-to-date appliances were procured and the scopo of the work was extended Tho first dental chair was made by an Australian non-com It was a rude enough bit of furniture, but it had an adjustable wooden head-rest, and was quite a success Material for the first surgery was begged, borrowed, or stolen, and three Turkish prisoners helped to build it Tho day it was opened there wero forty patients. That was en Sunday, Juno 11, 1915, and the "surgery" was quite close to tho Turkish lines. Tho shells from "Startling Annie" on tho north and from "Beachy Bill" on the south cimie flying past, and at times tho shrapnel burst overhead, sending jiellets through the blanket roof. After that timber and iron—which from start to finish wora at a premium on the Peninsula—were sent along to- replace tho blanket, and tho operators worked in less fear of the overhead bursts. Looking back on that shelling now, ono realises how much lese deadly it was tlia.ii tho shelling on tho Western front, yet in thoso days wo thought it sufficiently destructive. It'was in August, 1915, that the New Zealanders started,- at Cape Helloa, the first dental hospital known in British warfare. It was established in a marquee on the cliffs above the Lancashire landing by an officer who is still with us in France. There were two operators and sis mechanics, the latter drawn from men in the famous 2!) th Division, several of them .with degrees but who wcro drawing only u shilling a day. Later in the. jear the second dent.il hospital was established at No. 2 Outpost, near tho beach and below the frowning heights of Sarai Bair. During tho last days of tho historic adventure it had to be somewhat hnrrisdly evacuated.

But before the Main Expeditionary Force had sailed two dentists had embarked with the force that went to Samoa on August 11, 1911. Ten dentists landed willi tho force in Egypt on December 3, HIU. At first the dental officers were attaciied to tho Medical Corps, but subsequently a New Zealand Dental Corps wero formed. This was in November, 1915. From tho very commencement the New Zealand dentists with our Forces havo dono splendid work, and at tho present moment they are working harder than ever. There can be no doubt whatever that in this war tho dontists have come into their own. and New Zealand will always be alsie to look back with some prido to ihe fact that she was the pioneer of the movomont. It has already been published in England that the teeth of the Mediterranean Exp'editoinnry Force that' landed at the same timo as we did on the Peninsular wero often in an unsatisfactory condition. Indeed, the position was considered so serious that tho British Surgeon-Genoral approached tho 'i.O.C. of tiic New Zealand^-Force for a loan of several of its dental officers, which loan was readily granted. The Australians, also, woro without dentists, an'dln their caso, again, New Zealand supplied tho want. Wo exchanged dentists for nurses, our oftc-jrs working with tho English and Australian troops till the end of 1915.

Since then thero has been ft general advance in Army dentistry, and the Engas well as (he Australians mid Canadians, lmvo well-equipped dental corps,.but New Zealand still leads, inasmuch as it is the only country along tho entire Allied front that has a dental hospital in the field, or, in other words, in. tho divisional area. The Germans, with their usual thoronsjlwess, have their dental surgeons close up. So far as Now Zealand is concerned, there is what may bo termed a complete dental chain. To begin with, tliere is provision for dental treatment in tho training camps in the Dominion. On arrival in Hie United Kingdom they are again examined by the Dental Corps at the Reserve Camp, and if necessary they receive' further 'treatment until they am "no certificated fit to proceed to Prance. At the baso depot in France thero is another dental section, while with the division in the field there is a fully-equipped denial hospital. Beyond this, in the forward area, thero is further provision for dental treatment.

Thoir Immense Task, An immense nmount of work is dono by our Dentiu Corps in .the United Kingdom. Whwvvor our troops are gathered togethiir in considerable numbers thero our dantists wi!! bn ion ml. Even Egypt is not for there one officer and an orderly, with n light Furgical equipment, accompany the mobile sefltion of the 'Mounted Field Ambulance, all extensive work and prculhetiu cases being sent back to Die Now Zsola.ml Haeu Training Unit and Depot, where tiiore are ono officer and mechanics and an orderly. Tho main difficulty in connection with ft (Jontnl hospital in the field ;3 the qiH'Stion of transport. One week the hospital may bo housed under canvas. At another time it may bo in a shell-batter-ed building in tiie evacuated zona. You ir.ay even find our dentists operating "i what Had been, in times of peace, a dairy. At the entrance to every clinic a prophylactic bench is installed, and alt ranks parading for examination and treatment must cleanse the mouth thoroughly, lu a half-destroyed village well within tonge of tho German bnltorios one has noted with , interest the men lining up at the prophylactic bench, the waiting room full, and a queue of fifty or sixty men outside.

The strain on the teeth in war is naturally much more severe than in peace. Tho teeth of men making a prolonged stay'in tiie line are tried by the hard foo'tl. Everyono has heard of trench foot, one of tho "ailments of the war that the medical service has had to cone with, but how many people have lieard ot trench mouth. Yet wo havo trench mouth just as wo have trench feet. Otherwise unknown is Ulcero-moir.brnn-ous Stomatitis, or Vincent's Disease, it has, for somn considerable time now, engaged the attention of both tho medical and dental services. Tho result ot a . bacillus that causes ulceration ami blVodinc of the gums, It occurs on tho German as well ns on our side ot the war zone. It is not confined to men who have been in the trenches, but has atfected also men in barracks who have never seen a trench, and is n disease apt to bring otter disorders in its train. A satisfactory method of treatment has been 'iliscovered-tho painting oi the Kiims with salvarsnn or ?.n arseniral solution—and a cure is generally effected within two or throe-weeks' time. A Few figures regnrdini; the work- of our Dental Corps will prove inlercstintr and instructive The totnl number «f extractions reached Ihf large lotnl of 57.257, the number of filling 73.01(1, root fillings BM. minor operations 2il.fiU, dentures 21,5(15, repairs 15,212. 'Hie total number of patients treated ronched a total of 111(177. This covora a period from September, 1014, to tho end of Jannavy of the present year. The figures do not'include tho work done bv a number of dentists lent to the British and Australian forces on Gallipoli and in Egypt for about eight niontha.