According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 90% of adults over 20 years old in the United States have had, at least once in their lives, a dental cavity, which is usually treated by a dentist who removes the affected tissue, restoring the tooth, or molar, with a filling.
However, the fact that bacterial development is the main cause of dental cavities was an unknown topic until the beginning of the 20th century, when a dentist, a native of Adjuntas, changed the course of orthodontics forever.
Major of the United States Army, Fernando E. Rodríguez Vargas, was a prominent pioneer in oral bacteriological research and the first to find conclusive evidence of how bacteria cause cavities and deteriorate dental health, identifying the types of Lactobacillus responsible for this.
Origin and Formation
According to military biographer James B. Mann in his book "Fernando E. Rodríguez, Major, Dental Corps, U.S. Army," Rodríguez Vargas was born on February 24, 1888, in Adjuntas, where he completed his primary studies while Puerto Rico was still a Spanish colony.
However, the town did not have a high school until 1950, so young Rodríguez Vargas had to attend the Ponce high school, where the other students from Adjuntas also studied.
After graduating at age 18, he applied for admission to the University of Puerto Rico, where he studied paramedicine and obtained his teaching certification. Subsequently, he worked as an inspector for the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and, later, as a Spanish translator for the United States War Department.
According to the biography, in 1910, at age 22, Rodríguez Vargas applied for admission to the Georgetown University School of Dentistry in Washington, D. C., where he obtained a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 1913. From 1913 to 1915, the Adjuntas-born doctor practiced private dentistry in the U.S. capital.
His research began in 1915 when he joined the United States Indian Medical Service, stationed in Tucson, Arizona, where he studied the problem of mottled enamel affecting Native Americans.
Subsequently, in 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I, Rodríguez was appointed first lieutenant and during his military service accepted a position in the United States Army Dental Corps.
Rodríguez Vargas also served as an educator and researcher on the bacteriological aspects of dental diseases. His research led him to discover the bacterium causing dental cavities.
Valuable Scientific Advance
Rodríguez Vargas' discovery contributed to understanding how oral hygiene and diet influence the periodic fluctuations of bacteria of the genus Lactobacillus, associated with the development of cavities. His research identified three types of this bacterium that, during the fermentation process, favor the appearance of these lesions.
"His work on the specific bacteriology of dental caries has been the basis for much research in this field," wrote Willard Camalier, former president of the District of Columbia Medical Service, in 1940, regarding the Puerto Rican's medical work.
It was in 1921, at age 33, when Rodríguez Vargas published his main research on the causes of dental diseases, documenting his discovery of the three bacterial species.
At the time of its publication, the doctor's research and findings were considered one of the most valuable advances in the etiology of dental caries.
On February 18 of that same year, the young orthodontist was sent to Washington, D. C., and assigned to the Army Dental Corps, where he continued his research in the field of bacteriology, as noted by Dr. José Muñoz Barait in his book "Historical Matters: Tribute to the Late Commander Fernando E. Rodríguez."
His findings were published in the December issue of the Military Dental Journal, titled "Specific Study of the Bacteriology of Dental Caries."
According to data from the Rodríguez General Hospital Armed Forces Medical Library, in 1928 the dentist also published his findings on the efficacy of iodine and other chemical agents as disinfectants for oral mucous membranes in the "Journal of the American Medical Association."
Since then, other scientists have used the data from his research as a basis for the study of the bacteriology of dental caries.
Military Career
On August 16, 1917, Rodríguez Vargas began his successful career in the United States Armed Forces and on September 14 of that same year he was promoted to first lieutenant. Additionally, Rodríguez Vargas was assigned to the Army Dental Reserve Corps and attended a course at the Medical Officers' Training Camp in Camp Greenleaf, Georgia.
The United States had already declared war on Germany when Rodríguez Vargas was sent to the United Kingdom. In August 1919, he was reassigned to San Juan and served at Camp Las Casas, in Santurce, where he met María Anita Padilla, who would become his wife. The Adjuntas-born orthodontist was promoted to captain on September 8 of that same year.
In 1921, he was reassigned to Washington D.C., to the Dental Corps, as an educator and researcher of bacteriological aspects in dental diseases.
In his later years, Rodríguez Vargas was a member of the District of Columbia Dental Society, the International Association for Dental Research, and a member of the American College of Dentists. In 1925, he was assigned to the Army General Dispensary in Boston, Massachusetts, until August 1926, when he was reassigned to the Holabird Quartermaster Depot in Baltimore, Maryland, which would be his last assignment.
The major fell ill with pneumonia and was hospitalized at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center for treatment. Finally, on October 21, 1932, Rodríguez Vargas died due to complications from the illness at the young age of 44. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Section 6, plot 8429.
Posthumous Recognitions
After his death, Rodríguez Vargas' work was highlighted worldwide and he received several important posthumous recognitions.
On March 16, 1940, the American College of Dentists presented a plaque to the Army Medical Service Graduate School—currently the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research—in memory of the major for his pioneering research that demonstrated the relationship between Lactobacillus acidophilus and dental caries.
Rodríguez Vargas is also the only Puerto Rican honored with a plaque and a bust in front of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, D. C.
In the 1950s, the College of Dental Surgeons of Puerto Rico honored Rodríguez Vargas with the establishment of the "Dr. Fernando E. Rodríguez Scientific Competition." Later, in 1969, the dean of the newly created School of Dentistry published a tribute to Dr. Rodríguez Vargas in the Puerto Rico Dental Journal.
A few years earlier, on August 31, 1944, the United States War Department issued General Order number 71, which renamed the Fort Brooke Army General Hospital, located in the old Ballajá Barracks, on the grounds of San Felipe del Morro Castle, as Rodríguez General Hospital (161st), in honor of the Adjuntas-born major.
However, on February 14, 1949, as part of the dismantling of Fort Brooke, Rodríguez General Hospital was closed.
Nevertheless, the tribute to the important doctor continues at the Ambulatory Clinic located in Fort Buchanan, which was renamed the Rodríguez Army Health Clinic (RACH) and remains partially operational to this day.