Kits of Dental Personnel Medical Kits & Contents

Dental examinations are carried out in the field by Dental Technicians pertaining to the 2d Field Hospital. Woodstock, Australia, 1943.

Until World War I, no representative of the Dental Corps had been assigned for duty in The Surgeon General’s Office (SGO). The affairs of the Dental Corps prior to this time had been administered as part of the routine work of the Personnel Division, SGO. However, on 9 August 1917 the Dental Section of the Personnel Division was organized, and Major William H. G. Logan, MC, was appointed as its first chief. Major Logan, who later became Colonel, had both the D.D.S. and M.D. degrees. The Dental Section became the Dental Division on 24 November 1919. During World War 2, Army Regulations prescribed that “matters relating to the dental service as a whole were to be administered by The Surgeon General with the advice and assistance of the Dental Corps Assistant to The Surgeon General.”

The Armed Forces took nearly one-third of the Nation’s active dentists. In addition to providing these men with complete outfits, adequate reserve stocks had to be assembled for future operations as the loss of dental supplies was inevitably high under combat conditions.

This article looks at the equipment of the personnel which formed the Army Dental Corps. It should be noted that, contrary to the other Medical Kits, NO Dental Kits were ever issued for Noncommissioned personnel!

9710500 – Kit, Dental Private’s, Complete:
9710500 - Kit, Dental Private's, Complete
Number Item Quantity
9706500 Kit Component, Cantle Ring Strap 2
9708500 Kit Component, Pouch 2
9709500 Kit Component, Suspender 1
In Right Hand Pouch
5142200 Cement, Temporary, Anodyne 1
5427500 Pliers No. 104 1
5559300 Shears, Crown, Universal 1
5568000 Spatula, Cement 1
5597000 Syringe, Water 1
5696000 Wire, Ligature, 24-Gage, 18-Inch Strands, approximately 250 1
7178000 Towel, Hand 2
7624000 Pencil, Lead 1 Pencil
9206000 Dressing, First-Aid, Small, White 2
9509000 Slab, Mixing, Square, 2-Inch 1
9708000 Kit Component, Litter Strap 2
Form 52b Emergency Medical Tag (20 in Booklet in Duplicate) 1
In Left Hand Pouch
2034000 Plaster, Adhesive, Surgical, 1-Inch by 5 Yards 1
3468000 Scissors, Bandage 1
7878000 Pin, Safety, Medium 1
9102500 Ammonia, Aromatic, 10 Ampules 1
9112000 Iodine Swab, 1 1/2-cc, 6 2
9201000 Bandage, Gauze, Compressed, White, 3-Inch by 6 Yards, 72 12 Bandages
9204000 Bandage, Triangular, Compressed, White 3
9707000 Kit Component, Insert, Type I 1
9767500 Container, Metal, No. 1: (For 9112000) 1

Between 1943 and 1944 the Kit’s contents went through a number of modifications. In 1942, the right Pouch contained the Smooth Beak Office Pliers No. 122, which were cancelled and replaced by a No. 104 item in 1943. Other products were either replaced by better ones or deleted, such as the Germicidal Cement and the Silver Nitrate. The contents of the left hand Pouch were equally affected. The early Enlisted Men’s Instrument Case, a standard item dating back to 1940, disappeared completely with its contents, but the Type I Insert was kept, though it lost the Flask with Ammonia Aromatic Spirit. Later on, during 1943, more modifications took place, as such the No. 1 Metal Container only held 6 Iodine Swabs (instead of 12), the Ammonia Aromatic Ampules were now packed in a light cardboard box (replacing the 2 oz Flask), the original 12 Triangular Bandages were reduced to only 3, but this was somehow compensated by introducing 12 White Gauze Compressed Bandages! As was the case with the other First Aid Kits, all White material was to be replaced by Field Brown-colored items (Dressings, Bandages, and Adhesive Plaster) course of February 1945.

9710000 – Kit, Dental Officer’s, Complete:
9710000 - Kit, Dental Officer's, Complete
Number Item Quantity
9706500 Kit Component, Cantle Ring Strap 1
9707000 Kit Component, Insert, Type I 1
9708000 Kit Component, Litter Strap 1
9708500 Kit Component, Pouch 1
1383500 Procaine Hydrochloride, 20 Cartridges 1
2013000 Cotton, Absorbent, Compressed, 1 oz 1
2034000 Plaster, Adhesive, Surgical, 1-Inch by 5 Yards 2
4415000 Stopper, Rubber, Solid, No. 2 (For 9960500) 1
5155000 Chisel, No. 5 1
5158000 Chisel No. 48 1
5250000 Elevator, Winter, No. 122 1
5251000 Elevator, Winter, No. 123 1
5272000 Excavator, Black, No. 63 1
5273000 Excavator, Black, No. 64 1
5279000 Explorer, No. 5 1
5324000 Forceps, Tooth-Extracting, No. 150 A 1
5325000 Forceps, Tooth-Extracting, No. 151 A 1
5471000 Mirror, Mouth 1
5426000 Pliers No. 2, Dressing 1
5450000 Plugger, Plastic, Woodson, No. 1 1
7624000 Pencil, Lead 1 Pencil
7877000 Pin, Safety, Large 1
7878000 Pin, Safety, Medium 1
9112000 Iodine Swab, 1 1/2-cc, 6 2
9509300 Syringe, Hypodermic, Cartridge Type, Complete 1
9704000 Case, Dental Instrument, Empty 1
9705000 Case, Instrument, Medical Officer’s, Complete 1
9767500 Container, Metal, No. 1: (For 9112000, 9961000) 2
9768500 Container, Metal, No. 4: (For 9960500) 1
9951500 Sterilizer, Hypodermic Needle 1
9960500 Vial, Glass, 60-cc, Amber 1
9961000 Vial, Glass, Clear, Glass-Stoppered 3
Form 52b Emergency Medical Tag (20 in Booklet in Duplicate) 1

The Officer’s Dental Kit was also affected by modifications throughout WW2. New items were introduced in 1942, such as the Hypodermic Syringe, Cartridge Type, together with 20 extra Cartridges (replacing the older Laryngeal & Dental Tonsil Syringe with its 23-Gage Platino-Iridium Needles, and three Tubes with 20 Tablets each of Procaine Hydrochloride and Epinephrine), while the Tooth-Extracting Forceps No. 150 and 151 were replaced by improved versions, No. 150A and 151A. In March of the same year more items dating from 1940, i.e. the single Red Rubber Sheet and the No. 100 Straight Drill Handpiece, were both cancelled. Throughout 1943 additional modifications and replacements took place; the old Canvas Case No. 2 containing three Straight Bur Handpieces was deleted, followed by the Nerve Broach Holder, the Exact Lancet No. 1, the No. 01-5 Towner Pyorrhea Scaler, the two Hand Towels, the two No. 2 Pulp Canal Cleaners, and the Bit Engine Holder,  all disappeared and were not replaced! Some of the items were more or less compensated by introduction of a Complete Medical Officers’ Instrument Case, and the addition of two Spools of Adhesive Surgical Plaster, and single Cards of Medium and Large Safety Pins; meanwhile the 12 Iodine Swabs had been reduced to 6. One of the last modifications to be implemented, was the replacement of White material by Field Brown-colored items…

This page was printed from the WW2 US Medical Research Centre on 29th March 2024 at 08:46.
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