H. Trendley Dean Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS C 468

Abstract

H. Trendley Dean (1893-1962) was the first director of the National Institute of Dental Research and a pioneer investigator of fluorine in the prevention of tooth decay. His research focused on treatment of Vincent's disease, mottled enamel, and fluoridation therapy. Most of the documents in the collection are related to Dean's research at the National Institutes of Health (1931-1953) and as Secretary of the Council on Dental Research for the American Dental Association (1953-1959).

Dates

Creation: 1914-1961 (bulk 1931-1961)

Extent

2.9 Linear Feet

Creator

Dean, H. Trendley, 1893-1962 (Person)

Physical Location

Materials stored onsite. History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine

Language of Materials

Collection materials primarily in English

Restrictions

Donor's copyrights were transferred to the public domain. Archival collections often contain mixed copyrights; while NLM is the owner of the physical items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. It is the user's responsibility to research and understand any applicable copyright and re-publication rights not allowed by fair use. NLM does not grant permissions to publish.

Copyright and Re-use Information

Collection is not restricted. Contact the Reference Staff for information regarding access.

Privacy Information

Archives and manuscript collections may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in any collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications for which the National Library of Medicine assumes no responsibility.

Biographical Note

Henry Trendley Dean (1893-1962), the first director of the National Institute of Dental Research and a pioneer investigator of fluorine in the prevention of tooth decay, was born in Winstanley Park, Illinois on August 25, 1893. He received his dental degree from St. Louis University in 1916 and entered private practice that year in Wood River, Illinois. During World War I, he served with the Army until 1919 when he returned to his practice in Wood River. In 1921, he entered the United States Public Health Service and was stationed in several U. S. Marine Hospitals until 1931 when he was placed in charge of dental research at the National Institute of Health. Detailed to the Army for temporary duty in 1945-1946, he studied the epidemiology of Vincent's infection (trench mouth) in the European Theatre of Operations (Germany). When the National Institute of Dental Research was established in June of 1948, Dr. Dean was appointed by the Surgeon General to be its first director.

At the urging of Dr. Frederick McKay and others concerned with the brown-staining of teeth in certain regions of the country, Dr. Dean was asked to make this his first assignment at the Institute. With the help of his fellow investigators and the cooperation of dentists and other health workers in the field, it was established that while fluorine in drinking water was the precipitated mottled enamel (brown staining of the teeth). However, at optimal levels fluorine also helped prevent dental caries (cavities). The rest of Dean's professional life was spent in determining the level, safety, and efficacy of fluorine in drinking water.

When he retired from the United States Public Health Service in 1953, he joined the American Dental Association as Secretary of its Council on Dental Research. In this role, he continued to advocate and defend the addition of fluorine to public drinking water. He was frequently called to speak on the subject in this country and abroad, to assist in the preparation of Congressional testimony, and to refute the arguments of those who opposed water fluoridation. His many awards and honors attest to the significance of his contribution to good oral hygiene.

Dr. Dean was married to Ruth Martha McEvoy on September 14, 1921, and they had three daughters; Ruth Celestine, Dorothea Virginia, and Mary Harriet. A long-time victim of asthma and emphysema, he died in 1962, three days after responding as a juror for the Albert Joachim International Prize for that year.

Collection Summary

Most of the documents in the collection relate to Dr. Dean's research at the National Institutes of Health (1931-1953) and as Secretary of the Council on Dental Research for the American Dental Association (1953-1959). Much of the Dean's research correspondence exists in the form of preservation photocopies that can be difficult to read; there is no information about the cause or purpose for the copying, or the disposition of the originals.

The Personal and Biographical Series contains mostly biographical information available in published form. Accompanying these are bibliographies of Dean's contributions to periodical literature, books, and abstracts covering the years from 1930 through 1959. There is also an undated list of lectures by state and country. A few news releases and some published biographical material supplement these materials. Various honors and awards, related programs and correspondence are also included in this series. A newspaper article from the East St. Louis Journal Jubilee Edition describes Dean's place on the soccer team of 1914 and is one of the few items not related to his professional career. Other non-professional items of interest are contained in an anonymous manuscript that describes and compares the physical appearance, hobbies and other characteristics of Drs. Dean and McKay.

The material in the Research Series is related to Dean's activities during his career with the United States Public Health Service. It consists of some very general documents related to his work with the American Dental Association's Committee for Dental Health Survey and the National Research Council. Of greater interest are the documents related to his research on Vincent's infection and mottled enamel on teeth. The study on Vincent's took place in a war-time environment and the documents reflect what was known about the disease then and the quasi-military conditions under which the research was conducted.

The mottled teeth and fluoride portion of the Research Series contain correspondence with Dr. Frederick McKay and with various dentists and water treatment personnel concerning the fluorine content of drinking water and its effect on the dentition and health of those living in the Pikes Peak watershed area. Similar material exists for selected cities and states across the country. Also included are a number of manuscripts and radio scripts related to mottled teeth and fluorine.

Most of the efforts to promote and defend the fluoridation of public water supplies occurred after Dean retired from the United States Public Health Service and had become the Secretary of the Council on Dental Research for the American Dental Association. The correspondence and manuscripts generated during this time are to be found in the Council on Dental Research Series. Many charts and tables used and cited in the preparation of manuscripts and Congressional testimonies are included.

In addition to the professional organizations to which Dr. Dean belonged as a member or officer, he was frequently called upon to participate in meetings of other groups. The letters, travel arrangements, programs, and speeches related to those activities can be found in the Professional Organization and Meetings Series.

Some of the items in the collection that were too large to fit in a letter-size folder are included in the Reprints Series. They included some framed photographs and awards; newspaper clippings from the 1952 Delany Committee hearings; a bound notebook of hand-written notes and data on the Vincent's study in Germany; and Dean's own personal reprint files. The reprint files contain those which Dean wrote, as well as those he kept for reference.

Additional Description

Abstract

Arrangement

Collection is arranged into six series.

Physical Location

Materials stored onsite. History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine

Provenance

Gift of Mrs. and Ruth Dean, 4/4/1989. Acc. #554; 1997-19.

General

Processed by: Kenneth C. Lynn
Processing Completed: 1991
Encoded by: John P. Rees

Processing Information

Accession 19917-19, Dean's dental instruments, was transferred to NIH's Dewitt Stetten Musuem on 12/17/2002, as they were out of HMD's collecting scope.