The US Navy Dental Corps Celebrates 113th Birthday
What began in the age of sail with ship surgeons performing all medical and dental care aboard Naval ships has evolved into a corps of more than 1,400 dentists serving in 17 specialties. The Navy Dental Corps’ story is one of grit, innovation, and an unshakable commitment to keeping Sailors and Marines mission ready.
On August 22, Navy Medicine celebrates the anniversary of its Dental Corps, a milestone that honors not just a date in 1912, but a legacy stretching back more than a century before its official founding. In the earliest days of the United States Navy, oral healthcare was the province of ship surgeons whose tools were crude and whose most common dental “treatment” was extraction. Sailors’ diets of hard tack and salt beef, coupled with tobacco use and mercury-based medicines, left teeth in poor shape.
By the mid-1800s, dentistry was emerging as a distinct profession, complete with formal training, ethical codes, and pioneering research. Advocates like Dr. Edward Maynard pressed for dedicated Navy dentists, but the idea met resistance. For decades, dental duties fell to hospital corpsmen with limited training, even as patient numbers and complex cases grew.
Persistent lobbying and mounting evidence of the link between oral health and overall readiness led to a breakthrough in 1912: the creation of the US Navy Dental Corps. By 1913, Navy dentists were serving at sea, at shore stations, with Marines, and even overseas.
From those early years to today, the Corps has grown to more than 1,400 active-duty and reserve dentists spanning 17 specialties. They serve aboard ships, in combat zones, and at bases worldwide, ensuring that dental pain never keeps a Sailor or Marine from his or her mission. Click here to read more.
