Among other items during the last year of the war a total of 12,000,000 individual dressing packets were purchased and 795,000 boxes of gauze bandages, 574,400,000 yards of bandage, 10,000,000 first-aid packets, and 108,000,000 yards of gauze. During the same period a total quantity of 3,814,000 pounds of absorbent cotton was also bought.
Among the miscellaneous items obtained were approximately 1,600,000 blankets, 258,000 litters, and over 1,000,000 clinical thermometers. The rate of output of clinical thermometers was not all that the Medical Department thought it should be, and as a result a large quantity of thermometers was obtained on mandatory orders.
The heaviest buying period during the war was between July 1 and November 30, 1918. The supplies purchased or ordered in that period were the following, with their costs:
It is interesting to note that the purchases made in France for the Medical Department consisted mostly of large and bulky items, mainly hospital furniture and equipment, which, if transported from the United States, would necessitate the use of considerable valuable cargo space. Foreign purchases were made primarily to save ship space and not because of any shortage or failure to function in this country.
Although America is famous throughout the world for her dentists and dentistry, yet the participation of this country in the war created a demand for dental supplies that the American manufacturing facilities in existence in 1917 were unable to fill. For that reason it was necessary to extend the production capacity. The manufacturers in the trade rose to the occasion, and as a result the Government was able to supply to the A. E. F. from the United States all dental materials required, the only purchases made in France being of exceedingly bulky apparatus.
The total amount allotted for dental supplies for an army of 5,000,000 men in 1919 was $6,256,482. During the five months between July 1 and November 30, 1918, the dental purchases amounted to approximately $5,000,000.
The six leading dental items purchased by the Medical Department and the quantity and cost of each were as follows:
| Items. | Quantity. | Cost, each. |
|---|---|---|
| Tooth-extracting forceps | 47,319 | $2.86 |
| Dental Chairs: | ||
| Hospital Equipment | 1,112 | 167.06 |
| Portable | 3,200 | 49.00 |
| Lathes: | ||
| Unique | 110 | 10.00 |
| Electric | 70 | 43.96 |
| Fountain cuspidors | 1,253 | 32.51 |
| Burs | 3,836,776 | .081 |
| Engines: | ||
| Portable | 1,790 | 63.00 |
| Electric | 814 | 122.80 |