Bringing the bite to the fight

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Laura Goodgame
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  The 354th Medical Group Dental Clinic is surprisingly busy for being so small--treating about 8,500 patients a year and practicing more than 25,000 different procedures. 

"Our biggest complaint is the fear of coming to the dentist," said Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Dreier, 354th MDG Dental Flight NCO in charge of dental operations. "Our highly trained staff can handle most general dentistry procedures during sick call to include repairing fillings and crowns for up to 40 to 50 people a day." 

"I enjoy my job even though people are not always happy to see me; I feel happy to be able to have helped them out." said Sergeant Dreier. 

In addition to providing daily care to patients, the clinic also supports RED FLAG-Alaska training exercises and the Operation Arctic Care Visit - a Navy-led mission that has teams in 11 villages in Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region providing medical, dental and veterinary support at no cost to Alaskan natives. 

Within the small clinic there is also an in-house lab where prosthetics are made, cutting down on time patients have to wear temporary prosthetics. Staff Sgt. Bianca Roth, a dental lab technician works in the lab making night guards, crowns and other prosthetics. 

"My job is very rewarding," said Sergeant Roth, "I love hearing patients say they love the way their new crown or tooth looks. I enjoy knowing that I was a part of making the prosthetic and that patient now enjoys their smile more." 

In the customer service area several Airmen are usually found multi-tasking. 

"Our office runs efficiently due to the competent, high caliber of staff we have working in the dental clinic," said Master Sgt. Patrick McGonagill, 354th MDG dental flight chief. "I provide Senior NCO mentorship to four officers, managing the budget as well as scheduling to ensure there are enough personnel to manage the patient load of the small clinic with deployments and numbers of TDYs on the rise." 

Dentists do get deployed, where they quickly learn how to treat facial trauma and perform the everyday sick call. In some locations, the clinic will treat eligible locals in order to keep good rapport with the community. 

"The Air Force is a great avenue for young dentists to gain experience and travel the world," said Capt. Chris Gerwig, 354th MDG Dental Flight dentist.

The Airmen of the dental clinic are a tight knit group that make the best of what Eielson and the local community has to offer. 

"Eielson has many opportunities to take advantage of," said Sergeant McGonagill. "The operations pace is slower so you get to know the people you work with. The community is inviting and has a lot of outdoor activities, and Red Flag provides excitement keeping you on your toes." 

A piece of advice from Sergeant McGonagill, "Floss only the teeth you want to keep."