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Volume 1 Issue 5
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100The Royal Canadian Dental Corps:
UNIFICATION AND
UNITED NATIONS OPERATIONS
Canadian Armed Forces
Unification, 1968
In 1968, the Royal Canadian Navy,
Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air
Force were merged into one service:
the Canadian Armed Forces. As RCDC
personnel were already providing dental
care to all three services, unification had
minimal impact on their operations.
However, RCDC was reorganized into the
Dental Branch, renamed the Canadian
Forces Dental Services (CFDS), and issued a
new cap badge.
In his letter of congratulations on the
occasion of the 50th anniversary of the
Dental Corps, the Honourable Paul Hellyer,
Minister of National Defence at the time,
commented: “The tri-service role of
the Corps since 1939 has permitted the
ready adoption of new techniques and
equipment and has resulted in a high
standard of dental treatment to all three
services on an equitable basis. It has thus
required little modification in order to
adapt to the unification of the Canadian
Forces.”
United Nations Emergency
Force Middle East
(UNEF II) 1973–1979
In 1973, the Second United Nations
Emergency Force (UNEF II) was established
in the Middle East to supervise the
ceasefire between Egyptian and Israeli
forces and, after 1975, to supervise the
redeployment of Egyptian and Israeli
forces and control the buffer zones.
Headquartered in Ismailia, Egypt, troops
were deployed to the Suez Canal sector
and, later, the Sinai Peninsula.
In support of UNEF II, the RCDC deployed
dental teams to the Middle East. The RCDC
clinic started out in a tent, moved to a
race-track observation tower in a Cairo
suburb and finally settled in a building in
Ismailia.
The tri-service role of the Corps since 1939 has permitted the
ready adoption of new techniques and equipment and has
resulted in a high standard of dental treatment to all three
services on an equitable basis.
Canada’s military dental services have looked after the oral
health needs of Canada’s troops in bothWorldWars, Korea,
Afghanistan andmany other peacemaking, peacekeeping,
humanitarian and forensic operations. In the lead-up to the
100th anniversary of the Royal CanadianDental Corps (RCDC)
in 2015, this article is the fourth in a series that will bring to light
the history of the RCDCover the last century, celebrating the
heritage, accomplishments and dedication of the dental services
personnel of theCanadianArmed Forces (CAF).
is honoured to publish a regular series of articles, leading up to the celebration of RCDC's 100th anniversary.