National Dental Association Scientific Foundation Fund

The establishment of the Scientific Foundation Fund and Oral Research campaign of the National Dental Association, is being met by almost a landslide of professional support and endorsement. This in part is evidenced by the very liberal subscriptions made immediately upon the presentation of the plan. For example, when the work was presented by request before the Cincinnati Dental Society on January 24th, every member present contributed, making a total exceeding $2,500 or $500 a year for five years. Also when presented to a group of twenty dentists in Cleveland on January 28th, fifteen just ordinary dentists pledged $2,000 or $400 a year for five years. The full subscription from the society has not been taken as yet.

The number and urgency of the invitations from other places desiring to have the plan and the work presented there indicates that the spirit of the profession at this moment is intense to provide, by means of a general co-operation, for the bread and butter problem of some competent men that thereby they may enable them to devote their entire strength and undivided attention to the solving of some of the urgent oral and dental problems that humanity and the dental and medical professions are crying for a solution of.

Dr. Charles Mayo, in closing his splendid paper before the recent dental meeting in Chicago, January 31st, under the auspices of the Chicago Dental Society, made the statement that: “It is evident that the next great step in medical progress in the line of preventive medicine should be made by the dentists. The question is: Will they do it?”

It is a remarkable fact that this oral group of diseases, which afflict a larger percentage of humanity than any other, and which cause more total suffering directly and indirectly than any other, should have probably the least provision made for its competent exhaustive investigation aside from the private effort and independent sacrifice of individuals who have worked at night after days of exhausting professional toil. Practically all of the great epoch-making advances in medical science have been the result of definite laboratory research, and were only made possible by money being made available by a professional spirit back of it that was determined to know the unknown for the betterment of suffering humanity.

The eagerness to support this work financially, not as a mere sense of duty, but rather of privilege, scarcely exceeds the willingness of some of our best scientific institutions to place at the disposal of the National Dental Association the free use of their laboratories and equipment in order that humanity may be the most speedily helped.

The committee has already had placed at its disposal, free of expense, facilities and equipment sufficient for a large staff of workers, and these with an environment of experienced experts for consultation which money alone could not procure. The committee has found also to be available some of the best qualified men in the various branches of oral and dental science, many of whom have an international reputation, and whose hearts are known to the profession to be deeply devoted to the solution of these various great basic problems. All that is needed to bring this large group of earnest, competent men and these proffered laboratories together is an equivalent of $1 a year for five years from each member of the dental profession of the United States. Very many cannot be reached, others are too selfish to care, so that probably one fifth of the profession will have to carry the expense, which will mean only $5 a year for five years and thus pay the dollar for the four others who cannot be reached. In the places named, many are offering to take care of twenty-four or forty-nine of the delinquents besides their own $1 part of the privilege.

A host of the profession have been longing and wishing for a way to do this seemingly imperative work for their profession and for humanity, but which they had not the time, the facilities, nor the money to do themselves. Now, by uniting our little but universal effort, we can with a very few cents each per year, provide for the maintenance of an expert investigator, including his competent assistants all working in one of these fine, well-equipped laboratories, and any of these many basic problems can there be attacked for a few cents from each of us.

The committee has available already all requisites except the money, for studying, exhaustively, the following problems: dental caries, its cause, prevention and means for its immunity; pyorrhea alveolaris (so called) and all peridental affections; systemic and distant infections having their origin in the mouth; erosion, its etiology and prevention; enamel atrophy, its cause and prevention; the metallurgical and physical problems such as substitutes for platinum and iridio platinum; dental alloys and amalgam; the physics of bridge construction and orthodontia, etc., etc. When this work is under way it will naturally be reported quite regularly through the National Dental Journal.

The committee has implicit confidence that ample endowments can be secured during the five years, to make the work permanent and extend and very much enlarge it.

This committee was created by the National Dental Association for organizing this new department and for the securing of the funds for its maintenance, and they expect to have a liberal fund available by the time of the National meeting in July at Kansas City, and will report for endorsement its progress and available facilities for proceeding with the work, and will ask for a commission to be selected by that body, who shall assist in the great responsibility of establishing the work. This work does not in any way conflict with the special work being done by individuals at their own expense under the direction of another committee.

The funds are safely guarded by their being deposited with a trust company; the chairman of the committee is under bond and moneys can only be drawn over the endorsed voucher of the general secretary of the National. The committee has provided for a duplicate set of records of all payments to the fund to be kept by the General Secretary of the National Association.

Every organized dental society, city, county and State, should appoint a local committee on Scientific Foundation Fund and Research, with a local treasurer, who shall receive, receipt and forward all subscriptions to the National chairman, who will also receipt for the funds as received. The subscription forms are designed for a card system of bookkeeping, and furnishes the following: a subscription form with provisions for receipting yearly payments on the original; the National chairman’s receipt; the local treasurer’s memorandum card for recording annual payments on pledges; a form to be sent to the National General Secretary for his duplicate record, the local treasurer’s receipt and the local treasurer’s remitting memorandum; the subscription forms will be furnished by the National chairman on application; also printed matter carrying both endorsements and earnest pleas from some of the noblest men in the profession; also a brief statement of the purpose and plan of the work.

Will you help the dental profession to establish this exhaustive oral research and thus have as a profession, the credit for the work, the control of the work and the consciousness of fulfilling in part our great obligation to society? If so, please send for subscription blanks and get busy at once.