i wos watching on old ww2 flick the other day and a soldier got taken off the the frunt line due to not having enuff teeth .. wos this a true fact in ww2?? best krieg
It has an element of truth.....for example in the early days volunteers for parachuting duties in the British Army had to have at least 8 teeth in both their top and bottom sets.....there are several WW2 pictures of dentists examing volunteers teeth.....one appears in the early pages of the book 'Red Berets and Red Crosses'.....although later on in the war this requirement was dropped and men with dentures could volunteer.....
hi airborne thanks for the info on this subject good to know the old hollywood film had some truth to it .. best krieg...igsnort:
Sounds like the 1949 film "Battleground" with Private Kippton (Douglas Fowley) always losing his false teeth.
That is who I was thinking of. click click click. I remember reading years ago that infantrymen had to have sufficient teeth to tear open individual paper powder bags when loading old muskets. It's been a while, seems like it was in the mid to late 1800s, maybe even a British Army requirement? Anyone familiar with this?
An indepth website on military dentistry. Pretty much says minimum of 3 front (incisor)teeth and 3 rear (molars) teeth on each jaw (total 12) United States Army Dental Services in World War II: Operation of the Dental Service- General Considerations
you picked in one .jc. well done a good old ww2 film all ways losing his teeth and the other fellow with his boots best krieg
Was wondering about teeth today. Did GIs have better teeth than Tommies? Looking at WW2 photos of Tommy Aitkins & they all seem to have teeth missing. I'm sure I've read that GIs had better teeth.
I've seen multiple sources online (none of them reputable) claim that the brushing of teeth didn't catch on in the United States until GIs brought the standard back home from the service.
No one had bad teeth like the Australians...It was tradition here and in England to have your teeth pulled just prior to getting married...that's the bride and groom. Their first wedding present therefore was a new set of dentures for both...made the wedding photos look good and the couple didn't have to find the money later down the track, and thought to "encourage" a good marriage due to the bride and groom not looking ugly as they grow together.
Baking soda or salt was the standard toothpaste prior to the war, though you just dipped your wet brush in the can so it wasn't really a paste. My father used plain salt until the day he died and had great teeth.
When I was first called up in October 1942 my teeth were not in the best condition due to a very sweet toth in my youth. As a direct consequence I had many fillings installed or repaired by army dentists over the next four and a half years and left the forces with what I considered to be a problem free mouth. Imagine my horror then when my first civvie street dentist calmly told me that he would have to remove all my Army fillings and replace them with up to date replacements ! Happy days ! Ron
My Dad had all his teeth pulled and dentures fitted just after enlistment and just before his wedding. I would think that 'iffy' teeth were better out before going on active service to avoid the occurrence of severe toothache and abscesses. Once the NHS was up and running after the war, it was inundated with people wanting 'free' dentures.
One of my friends in boot camp got his dentures a few months after we graduated. He had 9 teeth when he enlisted, due to a childhood illness. He basically joined the Navy so he could eat a steak.
