U.S. President Donald Trump, whose every move—from his love of cola to ordering McDonald’s delivery even at the White House—draws global attention, has once again become the focus of the media due to a recent dental checkup. According to a recent report by USA Today, President Trump is scheduled to undergo a dental checkup at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in May. Located at the Bethesda military base in Maryland, near Washington, D.C., the facility primarily treats active-duty military personnel but also provides care for key U.S. government officials, including the president.
According to media reports, this is President Trump’s third dental appointment this year. For his previous two appointments, President Trump visited a local dentist in Florida, where his private residence is located. The dental appointments are scheduled to accommodate President Trump’s busy schedule as he manages state affairs while traveling back and forth between his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and Washington.
However, President Trump does, in fact, have a private dental clinic. It is a separate dental clinic located near the Oval Office, the main office building of the White House. The newspaper reported that the White House dental clinic was established in 1930 during the administration of President Herbert Hoover. At that time, the White House reportedly opened the dental clinic on the premises to enable the U.S. president to receive dental care quickly and discreetly. USA Today reported that the dental clinic is believed to be located in the White House basement. Naturally, it is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and staffed by medical professionals, and it provides care to the president, the vice president, their families, and White House staff.
Former President Barack Obama has also mentioned the existence of this underground dental clinic at the White House. According to a 2015 CBS News report, former President Obama appeared on the popular talk show *Jimmy Kimmel Live!* in 2015 and stated that while he could visit the dental clinic in the White House basement and freely access the White House kitchen, due to security concerns, he cannot use a cell phone with recording capabilities, send text messages, or drive himself.
In fact, dental treatment is carried out based on the dentist’s diagnosis, and even so-called VIPs do not receive treatment that is significantly different from what the general public receives. However, there are times when the dental care of VIPs, such as the U.S. president, attracts global attention. In 2023, then-U.S. President Joe Biden drew intense media attention worldwide when he underwent root canal treatment for a toothache. The reason for this was none other than the question of whether general anesthesia would be used. In the United States, if the president undergoes general anesthesia, a successor is designated to act as president. The purpose is to clarify the chain of command in case of an emergency, such as the president failing to wake up. Born in 1942 and 81 years old at the time, whether then-President Biden would undergo general anesthesia was inevitably a matter of interest to the global diplomatic community. Local media outlets, including CBS, reported that then-President Biden received only local anesthesia and did not undergo general anesthesia, so he did not appoint an acting president.
However, former President Biden underwent general anesthesia for his colonoscopy in 2021, during which time then-Vice President Kamala Harris served as acting president for 85 minutes.
Sometimes, dental records are made public as a tool in political battles. In 2004, the White House suddenly released President George W. Bush’s dental records from 1973, when he was a lieutenant in the Texas Air National Guard. According to CNN in 2004, there was controversy in political circles at the time over whether President Bush had properly performed his duties from May 1972 to May 1973. CNN reported, “The White House released President Bush’s military dental examination records, claiming that these documents served as evidence that the president was stationed at the base to perform his duties in the Air National Guard.” A former fighter pilot, President Bush was re-elected and served as President of the United States for eight years.
In fact, there was a U.S. president who underwent major surgery, including dental work. That president was Grover Cleveland (1837–1908), who served as the 22nd and 24th president. In 1983, after beginning his second term as president, Cleveland noticed an abnormality in his palate and asked his personal physician to examine him. In June of that year, tests revealed cancer cells in his mouth, and a major surgical procedure was performed by the president’s personal physician, along with two of the era’s leading surgeons and three dentists.
It was a sensitive time in American politics. Given the economic recession, the news that the president had cancer could have caused a major uproar. Moreover, Cleveland was scheduled to deliver a speech to Congress in August, just two months later. This was the backdrop for the unprecedented surgery performed aboard a yacht—a first in the history of world politics.
At that time, President Cleveland underwent anesthesia, had two teeth extracted, and then received implants as part of extensive cancer surgery and reconstruction inside his mouth. However, the details of the surgery were kept strictly confidential, and this fact did not come to light until 1917—nine years after Cleveland’s death—according to the University of Arizona Library. It is even reported that White House officials in the Cleveland administration, as rumors about the surgery spread at the time, issued a statement claiming that only one tooth had been extracted.
Writer. Hyuntaek Lee
<A former newspaper journalist who worked for 18 years at JoongAng Ilbo>, <and Chosun Ilbo>. She is currently working as a freelance contributor and planning the second act of her life. In addition to journalism, she has worked in public relations and marketing at JTBC Broadcasting and Edelman Global Advisory in the United States.
