SAN DIEGO –
At Naval Base San Diego’s Dental Clinic’s courtyard, dentists, hygienists and staff gathered to celebrate the 110th birthday of the U.S. Navy’s Dental Corps with a cake-cutting ceremony, Aug 22.
The celebration was ushered in by Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Kurtis Barlow, Naval Base San Diego, Naval Branch Health Clinic’s Medical Readiness Division leading petty officer, who played a classical violin rendition of the National Anthem.
An Act of Congress on Aug. 22, 1912, established the U.S. Navy Dental Corps, and since then it continues to provide a critical service for our warfighters and families.
“What you do everyday matters! I am incredibly proud of our performance with last month's Joint Commission Survey, as it is so validating to have an outside entity recognize the world-class Ready Reliable Care we provide every day,” said CAPT Kim Davis, Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) San Diego, commander.
“The Fleet Dental Team supported two Carrier Strike Groups, with one of them — the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln — at 98% ODR [Operational Dental Readiness]. In addition, 48 surface ships were deployed at 95% ODR; and we kept the accession pipeline moving by graduating all MCRD [Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego] recruit classes above 95%. Wow! That’s Warfighter Readiness and a great example of the power of Navy Dentistry,” expanded Davis.
Since last year’s Dental Corps birthday, NMRTC accomplished exceptional feats supporting Navy Medicine, including successfully educating and training 13 dental residents from: the Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD), General Practice Residency (GPR) and Oral Maxillofacial Surgery Residency programs; and, implementing 3D printing and extraoral scanning for the fabrication of maxillofacial prosthetics in the Area Dental Laboratory (ADL).
“These new capabilities at our ADL surpass dental outcomes and the patient experience of traditional methods, such as physical impressions and the pouring of stone models,” said Capt. Cheri Smiley, NMRTC San Diego director for dental services. “With this new ability to implement these technologies, we can treat more patients more predictably, efficiently, effectively, with better outcomes and less cost.”
The celebration also recognized the dental team currently aboard Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19), that is currently deployed in support of Pacific Partnership 2022.
“Our capabilities are not limited to the the various naval dental clinics throughout San Diego, and instead currently extend over-the-horizon with the USNS Mercy dental team who are making a profound difference to the many who they are providing dental care throughout southeast Asia,”added Smiley.
The celebration concluded with the celebratory cutting of the 110th Dental Corps cake by the most senior corps member, Capt. Christopher Hanhila, NMRTC San Diego oral maxillofacial surgeon; and, by the most junior member, Lt. Phuong Ahn “Jenny” Giao, NMRTC San Diego general dentist.
NMRTC San Diego's mission is to prepare service members to deploy in support of operational forces, deliver high quality healthcare services and shape the future of military medicine through education, training and research. NMRTC employs more than 6,000 active duty military personnel, civilians and contractors in Southern California to provide patients with world-class care anytime, anywhere.