Mission Spotlight: Restoring a smile

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Ryan Conroy
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  Mood research shows that smiling can be contagious, enhance attitudes and increase overall health, but who ensures an Airman retains the capability to smile confidently and keep those pearly whites prepared to deploy?

The 31st Dental Squadron's primary duties are to treat patients and provide dental care to approximately 9,200 beneficiaries spanning three geographically-separated units under a space-available mission.

The goal is to keep everyone dentally ready to deploy at any given moment, according to Capt. Duy Nguyen, 31st DS general dentist. This is attained through a proactive approach that includes annual checkups, dental cleanings, educating patients on healthy habits and techniques for daily care and preventative restorations.

"We don't want our Airmen transfixed on a painful dental problem while they're working in a deployed location," said Staff Sgt. Nicole Hutcherson, 31st DS dental lab technician. "Their job is hard enough in the field without problems that could have been avoided through preventative care."

So far this year, the dental squadron has been successful in their endeavors, claiming the No. 1 U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Air Forces Africa large dental clinic for the first quarter of 2014, with 98.9 percent of their demographic having no dental issues that would prevent a deployment.

Three flights comprise the 31st DS, which encompass most essential dental procedures that could prevent a hiccup in a deployment. This includes the clinical, laboratory and support flights.

The clinical flight is highly visible and deals with treating patients and providing direct care through the dental clinic and surgeries. The support flight handles logistics, scheduling and sterilization and ensures the squadron has the tools available to treat their patients. Lastly, a more unique aspect of the squadron is the availability of its own dental laboratory.

The dental laboratory fabricates dental prosthesis for patients on base. This could mean anything from full-mouth restorations, crowns and bridges to simpler projects such as retainers and mouth guards.

"Having our own laboratory increases the turnaround time and speeds up the delivery of care to our patients, enabling them to get back to deployment-ready status in a quicker rate of time" said Nguyen. "If we didn't have our own lab, it could take us an additional one to two weeks of transit time to treat a patient in need."

In any case, personnel working at the 31st DS agree on what keeps them going - taking care of their patients and transforming a smile.

"I love everything I do, but I specifically like performing surgeries on patients," said Nguyen. "Nothing compares to the satisfaction of someone coming in with pain, being able to deliver a great restoration and leaving with a smile."

Hutcherson reiterated the sentiment.

"My favorite part of my job is completing a big case and seeing the transformation," Hutcherson said. "Sometimes, we have patients who have been involved in major accidents with major dental injuries. They hide their teeth, keeping their mouth closed as much as possible and I'm a part of the process that allows them to smile confidently again - it's very rewarding."