Combat dentists keep troops’ teeth healthy

  • Published
  • By Capt. Mo Schumann
  • 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
TALLIL AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  The familiar high-pitch sound of a drill floats out from behind the curtain. Bits and pieces of decayed tooth are chipped away as the drill bores deeper and deeper. A cavity or other tooth emergency is never fun, but for soldiers and airmen in Iraq, help is just a dental visit away.

The staff at the 407th Expeditionary Medical Dental Operations Squadron is committed to putting smiles back on faces.

“We’re the most feared people in Iraq,” jokes Capt. Marc Workman, deployed here from Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.

As the senior Air Force dentist in the clinic, he and a team of two Army dentists and two dental technicians run the busiest clinic in the entire medical group, treating Army, Air Force, coalition partners and foreign workers.

Since the beginning of the current rotation, the team has completed more than 680 procedures on 595 patients. Some of the procedures are routine dentistry like fillings and root canals, but the team has also worked on some severe facial trauma cases.

“We’ve treated people who were in some pretty bad car accidents where they’ve had lips splayed open and broken teeth and big lacerations to the face,” said Captain Workman.

Just about the only service that the clinic does not offer is routine cleaning.

“Unfortunately, we’re just not staffed to handle that now,” said the captain.

In a small curtained-off area at the front of the tent, several soldiers wait patiently.

“We had no idea exactly how much dental we’d be doing,” said Staff Sgt. Rafael Pena, noncommissioned officer in charge of the dental clinic deployed here from Lackland AFB, Texas. “We had heard stories from other people deployed that the pace was sometime so slow that they would do cleanings on people and each other, but we got here and I was overwhelmed.”

The pace has slowed some, according to Army Lt. Col. James Wood, officer in charge of the dental clinic. He was working in Balad Air Base, Iraq, in September when he got the call to come here.

“I had no idea that they were seeing so many patients, at least 20 or more a day,” said the colonel. And, since 80 percent of the patients are Army, it made sense to work as a joint team.

“This is the first joint Army Air Force clinic in Iraq,” said the colonel. “We work very well together.”

The captain agrees.

“We don’t have a front desk person, we don’t have sterilization people, so we all kind of chip in and do a little of everything to support the mission.”

Dentistry in a combat environment can create a few challenges, such as keeping the equipment working and improvising with the supplies on hand if ordered stock does not arrive in time.

But, with some soldiers traveling several hours to see them, the team makes sure the work gets done.

“It’s neat for us to see the people coming in with their weapons and know that these are the people who are actually out there guarding us,” said Sergeant Pena. “For us it’s a feeling of satisfaction knowing that these people are out here for a year, and we’re the only means of any dental clinic they have, so we try to get them better or at least get them through until their deployment is up.”