Did you know that during the Boer war the army lost nearly as many men to dental disease as were lost in battle. 2000 were evacuated because of dental problems and 5000 were found unfit for duty due to lack of dentures to replace lost teeth. "Disease, neglect, tough beef and hard biscuit play havoc on teeth". In 1915 during the Gallipoli campaign, 600 men from a single infantry division had to be evacuated on account of their teeth. The desperate need for dental surgeons was not acted upon by the British Government until well into WWl. Read Stephanie Pain's article, "Can't Bite, Can't Fight" in New Scientist, 10 March 2007 pp. 50-51.