trench mouth

American  

noun

1. Vincent's angina.

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trench mouth British  

noun

1. a bacterial ulcerative disease characterized by inflammation of the tonsils, gums, etc

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Etymology

Origin of trench mouth

First recorded in 1915–20; so called from its high incidence among soldiers in the trenches

Example Sentences

Drs. C. Rex Fuller and John Charles Cottrell of Salida, Colo, were obliged to amputate an Italian miner's left index finger after another man with trench mouth had bitten the finger.

From Time Magazine Archive

So he fed small amounts of the acid dissolved in water to 34 patients with severe trench mouth.

From Time Magazine Archive

To kill the trench mouth spirochete, doctors usually swab their patients' swollen gums with hydrogen peroxide, silver salts or arsphenamine, prescribe mouthwashes of sodium perborate.

From Time Magazine Archive

The disease is called variously Vincent's angina, trench mouth, ulcerated stomatitis, necrotic gingivitis.

From Time Magazine Archive

And many men also suffered from trench mouth, a severe bacterial infection of the gums, another hazard of life in the trenches, caused by poor diet, poor hygiene, and smoking.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman