ANZAC Q&A - Did the Anzacs have dentists?

Image: Practical joker Dexter pretends to extract a tooth at a dressing station behind the trenches.

Q.   Did the Anzacs have dentists?

A.   The AIF did not originally enlist dentists so dental health was a serious problem on the peninsula. Men suffered tooth decay, broken teeth and broken dentures - the latter effectively removed the man from the firing line as he could not eat the rations provided and had to be evacuated to Egypt to have new dentures fitted. Some units had dentists in their ranks who had enlisted as normal soldiers and most of these men did the best they could to help. Later the AIF realised its mistake and began appointing full time dentists and dental mechanics to the medical and by the end of the war there were 118 dental units serving with the AIF.

This and other trivia questions are included in our best selling Great War Educards

Help pass the Anzac legend to the next generation with our fun educards. These questions and answers were created with the help of noted Australian military historian Graham Wilson.