Are you battle ready? Brush your teeth!

Judith Martin - A major event in the training of military volunteers  in boot camp takes place on the morning when they learn to brush their teeth.  The War in Iraq may be ending, but our folks must be properly taught to be healthy and ready for action.

This story comes from a former Navy recruit who was in Orlando, Florida, as a member of a women's drill team in basic training, in 1975.  Nothing changes, however, as a recent war veteran says.  "Everything has to be done, just so.  They wanted us to be healthy in every way, so we learned we should brush our teeth.  And what's the new command?

"Today we will have the brushing of teeth," our company commander informs us.

Recruits are marched into a big room in which there are shining stainless steel toughs, above which are set individual faucets with hot and cold water handles. Each recruit takes a place in front of one, individual spigot. Above each range of spigots is a long, lengthwise mirror.

First, the recruits are shown a slide show of people with really rotten teeth. "This is what the Navy does not want to see in your mouths," they are told. "It costs the U. S. Navy a lot of money to repair bad teeth like this among its crewmen and women. So, by taking care of your teeth, you save the U. S. Navy a lot of money."

There is a general ripple of muffled laughter.

Then, comes the main event. Each recruit is issued a brand new toothbrush, tube of toothpaste, a small container of dental floss, a paper cup, and a small bottle of tooth staining fluid.

"Brush your teeth as you always do. You're being timed to three minutes." comes the order from the instructor. When the signal is given to start, some fifty or sixty recruits stationed at the troughs all around the room start to brush for all they are worth.

At the end of the three minutes, the instructor says, "Floss. Put water into the cup. Put a drop or two of the strainer fluid in the water. Rinse your mouths."

Now come the sounds of slurping of water, "slooshing" the liquid around in the mouth, and the concluding spit-out from the mouths of dozens of eager and giggling young recruits.

"Look in the mirror above the water taps. See how many dark stained patches there are still on your teeth."

The dozens of recruits look, then moan more or less in unison. "Eee-uw. Icky. I got all these spots on my teeth." The sounds of despair rise in chorus.

Dental hygienists walk around and give the recruits advice about the propert way to brush, and moral support.

The instructor intones, "Brush again. Rinse again with the stainer fluid. See if you have done any better. There should be fewer spots. Better, there won't be any spots at all. The time limit is three minutes."

Three minutes later, there is the slurp, the sloosh, and the spit-out. "Aw, man, what's with this?" is heard from more than one direction.

"Three minutes. Brush and rinse again."

By the end of the third round, expressions on the faces of the recruits seem to be much more relaxed. "Awl-right!" is heard as the happier chorus to replace the disappointed sounds from rounds one and two.

"Excellent," says the instructor. "And that is how you will brush your teeth once in the morning and once in the evening, every day. Thoroughly."

Recruits who are seen to have problems are given appointments to see the base dental clinic.

The exercise is about more than dental hygiene. It is part of the training to teach recruits to be thorough in every assignment they are given, from spit-polishing their shoes to working out a problem so that it can be resolved.

The next day, recruits will be taken to another totally different experience, to learn how to survive a tear gas attack. Boot camp is no picnic, but it can teach someone skills that can carry them through all kinds of situations, thick or thin.

 You don't have to join the Navy to learn how to brush your teeth. Your dentist will be happy to give you instructions.  Besides all that, just as the military tells us, healthy teeth are the way to good health and help keep the body healthy too.

Healthy teeth keeps men battle ready and disciplined, a fact that continues to be part of the training of troops.