CDA Essentials 2014 • Volume 1 • Issue 3 - page 17

News and Events
17 Volume1 Issue3 |
clinics. Each clinicwasmountedon a three-ton truck
andequippedwith aportableelectricgenerator.
With thesemobile clinics anduseof portabledental
kits, dental treatment couldbeprovided closer to the
front lines.
TheCDC’spast experience in thefieldwas
undeniable. However, theCDCnowneeded to
serve all threebranches of theCanadianForces.
Thefirst dental detachment to serve at seawas
established in1943. The following summer, adental
teamwasposted to theCanadianhospital ship,
SS Letitia, with thepurposeof treating liberated
prisoners ofwar inManila. Eighteendental
companies servedoverseas, spread throughout
Africa, England, Italy andother parts of Europe:
14with theArmy, 3with theAir Force and1with
theNavy. CDCpersonnel served inall theatresofwar.
At theendofWorldWar II, theCDChadover 5000
members,more thanhalf ofwhomhaddeployed
overseas. Fourteendental officers and19dental
techniciansgave their lives in active serviceduring
WorldWar II.
TheperformanceoftheCDCduringthewarconvinced
the authorities tomaintain its operations after demo-
bilization. When theCanadianArmywas reorganized
inOctober 1946, theDental Corps became a compo-
nent of the Regular Force for the first time, with an
establishment of 88 dental officers, 5 non-dental of-
ficersand147other ranks. In January1947, HisMajesty
KingGeorgeVI granted theRoyalWarrant to theCDC,
marking the beginningof the Royal CanadianDental
Corps (RCDC). a
CDA isplayingacentralrole incommemoratingthe100th
anniversaryoftheRCDC inMay2015,reflectingCDA’srole in
establishingamilitarydentalservice inCanadaandtheclose
partnershipbetweenCDAandRCDCsincethattime.
WorldWar II: TheCDC inaction
➊ CDCmobiledental clinic
➋ Inside themobiledental clinics
➌ Fieldconditions
➍ Dental clinicaboardHMCSNabob
➎ Training facility
➏ First femaledental assistants inmilitary
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