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The dental profession had gained
some standing during the two decades that preceded the Civil War. In the Confederate
states, there were about 500 dentists. Jefferson Davis, while serving as Secretary
of War under Pierce, was an advocate for a dentistry corps. Perhaps this is
why the Confederate Army had a dental program, while a similar idea in the
Union Army was rejected by the War department. Confederate Surgeon General
Moore was also quite supportive of the idea of Army dentists, leading to the
comment that the dentists owed more to Moore "than to any man of modern times".
Soldiers tended to neglect basic
care of their teeth. Toothbrushes were scarce and their diet was inadequate.
Also, Dental operations usually cost more than the common private soldier
could afford... particularly in the Confederacy when inflation set in. Despite
poor dental care, a soldier's teeth were important on the battlefield. Many
recruits were turned down if they lacked six opposing upper and lower front
teeth, considered necessary to bite off the end of the powder cartridges used
with the muzzle loading rifles of the times.
Dentists were usually accorded the
rank of hospital steward, though according to one source, they also could
be full
surgeons with all the pay and benefits of a surgeon. Medical director William
A.
Carrington, CSA, commented that dentists "plugged, cleaned, and extracted
teeth", in addition to "adjusting fractures of the jaw and operating on the
mouth". Another, Richmond dentist Dr. W. Leigh Burton, commented that his days
were filled of "twenty to thirty fillings, the preparation of cavaties included,
the extraction of 15 or 20 teeth, and the removal of tartar ad
libitum!"
Dentist Dr. James B. Bean of Atlanta made
significant contributions to the treatment of fractured maxillary bones. Bean
used an interdental splint made of vulcanized india rubber that had cup shaped
indentations for the teeth. Bean's splint was a great success and he was sent to
Richmond where his splint was used for treatment at a ward of the Recieving and
Way Hospital.
The Confederacy in particular should
be praised for it's Dental Corps. The act of conscripting dentists in January
1864, gave the Confederate soldier at least that small advantage over his
Union counterpart. As before stated, all attempts at the Union Dentistry corps
were turned down.
USCivilWar.Net wants to thank
Jenny Goellnitz for compiling this information. jgoellnitz@yahoo.com
