376th Dental Clinic

07/30/2008 - MANAS AIR BASE, KYRGYZ REPUBLIC -- Capt. Zachary Allmand (left) and Tech. Sgt. Paul Brown, operating room surgery technician, perform a root canal on a patient here, July 30, in the new 376th Expeditionary Medical Group medical facility. (Air Force photo / Airman 1st Class Ruth Holcomb)

376th Dental Clinic

07/30/2008 - MANAS AIR BASE, KYRGYZ REPUBLIC -- Capt. Zachary Allmand, 376th Expeditionary Medical Group dentist, performs a root canal on a patient here, July 30, in the new medical facility. Captain Allmand provides dental care to more than 1,000 U.S. and coalition servicemembers deployed to Manas, as well as thousands more that transit in and out of Afghanistan daily. (Air Force photo / Airman 1st Class Ruth Holcomb)

376th Dental Clinic

Something to Sink Your Teeth Into

Published Aug. 12, 2008
By Airman 1st Class Ruth Holcomb
376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

MANAS AIR BASE, KYRGYZ REPUBLIC -- Dental hygiene is an important part of maintaining good dental health and your ability to enjoy a good Liberando meal - and that's something you can sink your teeth into.

Capt. Zachary Allmand has a lot of teeth to look after as the 376th Expeditionary Medical Group's sole dentist. He is responsible for the dental care of everyone on the Liberando team as well as the thousands of transiting coalition servicemembers that pass through Manas.

"Working here has really opened my eyes as to how hard it is to run a dental clinic," said Captain Allmand. "Here I do everything that a staff of assistants helps me with back home - procedures, set up, sterilize, even input the data into the computer. This was a big learning curve and a lot for one person to take on," he said.

The Indiana native has seen about 65 patients during his time here, the majority being transients who were not able to get care at their forward deployed locations.

Captain Allmand not only cares for the 1,000 Manas servicemembers, but also provides emergency care for the French and Spanish coalition forces deployed here. He also has professional interactions with dentists from the Kyrgyz Republic to share techniques and exchange knowledge.

Being here has also allowed Captain Allmand to help support general surgery, a task that he would have been able to do at his home station of Charleston Air Force Base, S.C.

"They actually called me one night and asked if I would like to assist with a surgery," said the Indiana University graduate. "It was a life threatening operation and I served as one of the assistants. It was a really good experience."

But the dentist is not the only one switching roles and experiencing new opportunities. Tech. Sgt. Paul Brown, 376th EMDG surgery technician, has been able to step in and assist Captain Allmand when time permits.

"I have two hats here, surgical technician and dental assistant," said Sergeant Brown. "I never did dental before coming here, but now I am able to assist with root canals, pulling teeth, fillings and repairing chipped teeth. It has been a good experience working at Manas."

"Because of Sergeant Brown's surgical background, he has been quick to learn how to support dental procedures," said Captain Allmand. "He's been a lot of help and has even taken over set up and sterilization procedures. It is definitely a huge benefit being able to have his support."

Much like throughout the combat area of operations, partnerships like Captain Allmand and Sergeant Brown are formed and everyone pulls together to get the job done. It doesn't matter if it is pulling or repairing engines or teeth, the mission must go on. The Liberandos' dentist proves this daily.