Portal:Military history of Australia/Units/May 10
![A dental officer of the 34th Australian Dental Unit, working at an advanced post in France](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/3rd_Dental_Unit_%28AWM_E02371%29.jpg/150px-3rd_Dental_Unit_%28AWM_E02371%29.jpg)
The First Australian Imperial Force was one of the first military forces to care for soldiers' teeth. 118 Dental Units were raised through World War I. The dental units were the smallest units in the AIF, consisting of only four men: a dentist with the rank of a lieutenant, two dental mechanics (staff sergeants) and an orderly. Dental units were attached to base camps, hospitals and medical units. The first 36 units were formed in Egypt between January to April 1916 from the dental detachments brought from Australia with subsequent units being formed over the course of the war.