The humanitarian service of dentists in Grenfell's sub-Arctic Labrador: 1910-1930

Little has been written about peacetime humanitarian work in dentistry. In particular, few know the achievement of dentists who served with Dr. Wilfred Grenfell's medical mission in the early 1900s. These volunteers introduced dentistry to the impoverished coasts of Labrador and North Newfoundland, working under primitive conditions to meet an incredible need for dental care. This work constitutes an important chapter in the history of humanitarian dental service. As Dr. Grenfell himself noted, "the gospel of prosthetic and prophylactic dentistry in a distant, foreign country on a scale of this kind is entirely unique in the world's field of dentistry, so far as I can find".