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Until the 1950s, dental decay and pain were accepted as inevitable, common
afflictions, by rich and poor alike. During World War II, nearly 10 percent of
Armed Forces recruits were disqualified from serving because of dental defects
– mostly missing teeth that had been extracted because of dental caries.
Selective service dental criteria had to be reduced twice during the war to
maintain an adequate level of recruits. Fluoridated water changed this picture
dramatically (even though its benefits are enjoyed by only 60 percent of the
population). |
