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Korea - The Forgotten War (1950-1953)

British Dental Journal volume 230, pages 451–455 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

A summary of the British Army's contribution to dental provision for Commonwealth troops engaged in the Korean War including the personal recollections of James Donaldson, a Royal Army Dental Corps veteran. It outlines the planning and setting up of dental facilities in the theatre of war, some of the problems encountered and how these were overcome while operating under difficult and, at times, extreme weather conditions.

Key points

  • An outline of British Army dental units deployed to Korea.

  • Mobile dental unit equipment and capabilities along with some problems encountered and their solutions.

  • The formalisation of maxillofacial trauma helped to establish maxillofacial surgery as a speciality.

  • Extreme winter temperatures provided dental ancillaries with some strange bedfellows in the form of local anaesthetic cartridges.

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References

  1. Tong D C. The management of maxillofacial trauma during the Korean War - A coming of age speciality. J Mil Veterans Health 2011; 19: 10-14.

  2. Ward V H. A History of the Army Dental Service. Aldershot: RADC Historical Museum, 1997.

  3. Mackie W S Y. A short synopsis of the dental cover in Korea - up to February 1952. RADC Historical Archive, Museum of Military Medicine.

  4. Godden L J. History of the Royal Army Dental Corps. Aldershot: Royal Army Dental Corps, 1971.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Colonel (Retired) Late Royal Army Dental Corps, Consultant Forensic Odontologist, Surrey, UK

    James Hardy

  2. Ex-Regimental Sergeant Major Royal Army Dental Corps and Retired Lieutenant Royal Army Medical Corps, Korean War Veteran, Cheshire, UK

    James Donaldson

Authors
  1. James Hardy
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  2. James Donaldson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to James Hardy.

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Cite this article

Hardy, J., Donaldson, J. Korea - The Forgotten War (1950-1953). Br Dent J 230, 451–455 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-021-2785-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-021-2785-6

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