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Deployed dental clinic keeps Airmen in the fight

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Bahja J. Jones
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Whether it's a toothache, cracked tooth or cavity, the 379th Expeditionary Medical Group Dental Clinic is here to get to the root of the problem and keep service members in the fight.

"If you have tooth pain it distracts from the mission, and doing your job can become very difficult," said Capt. Jonathan Schubert, the 379th Expeditionary Medical Operations Squadron dental flight chief deployed from Hill Air Force Base, Utah. "I've actually had a root canal before and it was some of the worst pain I've ever experienced."

Three strong, one general dentist and two dental technicians, the dental clinic serves the estimated 8,500 U.S. and coalition forces here and sees approximately 140 patients per month. The clinic has walk-in hours Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., and 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday mornings from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., and typically set same day appointments to accommodate patients' dental needs.

"Most Airmen who deploy are dental class one or two, which means we don't expect them to need routine dental care for the duration of thier deployment," Schubert said. "We mostly end up seeing patients who might've fallen and broken their teeth or have an acute infection or things of that nature."

They are able to perform root canals, extractions and fillings among other emergency dental services. They also provide dental cleaning for service members who are here for one year or more.

"Nearly all of the capabilities we have at home we have here," said Tech. Sgt. Jennifer LaPlante, the 379th Expeditionary Medical Operations Squadron dental flight NCO in charge also deployed from Hill AFB.

Several of the other bases throughout the U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility have a general dentist and are able to serve the deployed service members in their respective locations, but what makes this dental clinic unique is the relationship they have with a local dental clinic, Schubert explained.


"We're able to refer some patients off base if there is a procedure needing to be done that is too complicated for us to do here or if we don't have the equipment available to perform," he said.

As the military continues to look for ways to cut spending, the dental clinic has been able to save money by limiting the number of service members who are sent off the installation for treatment.

"Since our rotation, we've already cut that number from an average of about 13 a month to only one or two patients, saving the Air Force nearly $20,000," Schubert said.

In addition to serving military members, they also treat the wing's military working dogs here.

"Though we haven't had to treat any of the MWDs during this rotation, the dental clinic does have the capability to provide care for them as well," LaPlante said. "The vet here can typically handle cleaning, but we take care of root canals as needed. They have very long roots and have to use special tools unique to K-9 dentistry."

The dental clinic allows deployed service members to be treated here without leaving the AOR so the mission can keep flowing.

"Keeping service members out of pain so they can focus on their job is our mission," said Senior Airman Zachary Mason, a 379th EMDOS dental assistant deployed from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. "I can't imagine anything more fulfilling for a deployed dental technician."