Military mobilization of dentists during the Civil War of 1917–1922

In 1918, under the conditions of military communism, the Civil War and intervention in the RSFSR, the creation of a system of free dental care began, but the deployment of a network of state outpatient clinics was difficult because of a catastrophic shortage of trained specialists, equipment, materials and medicines. In 1918–1919, three waves of military mobilization of dentists took place, because of which almost all men under the age of 50 and women under the age of 40 were called up for military service. This made it possible to organize dental care in the Red Army. Because of the lack of material resources, it was difficult to create new dental offices and outpatient clinics, so a significant part of the mobilized dentists did not work in their specialty, but were used as paramedics, while the civilian population suffered from a shortage of dentistry specialists. Army allowances helped dentists who were in military service to survive the difficult post-revolutionary years. The article, based on archival data, analyzes the results of the military mobilization of dentists during the Civil War of 1917–1922.