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51st Dental Squadron: "Ensuring dental readiness"

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Candy Knight
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  "Every tooth in a man's head is more valuable than a diamond," Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, 1605

For the members of the 51st Dental Squadron, this pearl of wisdom doesn't decay. It is their mission to keep Team Osan "Ready to Fight, Tonight" by taking care of everything from oral X-rays to ante/post mortem charting procedures and teeth cleanings.

"Our job is to ensure readiness ... dental readiness," said Capt. Tamara Murray, 51st DS dentist. "We try to ensure none of our patients have dental emergencies during their tour here, and if they do, we do our very best to take care of it and ease the pain."

And easing a person's pain is not easy, especially when the person hasn't been to the dentist in a long time.

"We understand some of our patients have had negative dental experiences," said Tech. Sgt. Vicki Johnson, NCOIC of the clinical dentistry flight. "We explain the procedures to the patients as well as why the treatment is needed."

Not taking care of the your teeth will have a negative affect on both your oral health and mission readiness. It may also result in a trip to one of two specialty clinic dental squadron has: oral surgery and orthodontics.

However, through hard work and understanding of dental procedures, the members of the Osan clinic ensure their patients receive quality care, no matter how long it's been since they've visited a dentist.

"Every patient is different and every day is a new experience," said Senior Airman Marcus Easterling, dental assistant. "Despite having a high personnel turnover rate and limited services, we are still able to get the mission done and help our patients better understand why proper oral health care is so important."

For Sergeant Johnson, the staff's ability to provide personalized care for each patient is one of the things that sets the 51st DS apart from other Air Force dental clinics.

"We take the time to get to know our patients during treatment and we also like to involve the patients when possible when we develop treatment plans," she said. "We want to make sure our patients leave with a clear understanding of how to care for their teeth and motivation to do whatever it takes to have healthy teeth and gums."