Photo By Douglas Stutz | Taking the cake…Dental Assistants Recognition Week at Navy Medicine Readiness...... read more read more
Behind every endodontist procedure – think of root support for a root canal – is a dental assistant.
That specialized support in helping dentists diagnose, treat and care patient’s oral health needs is acknowledged with Dental Assistants Recognition Week at Navy Medicine Readiness Training Command Bremerton, March 5-11, 2023.
“Dental assistants prepare and organize tools and materials needed by dentists to work on and treat patients. Dental assistants have many tasks including patient care, recordkeeping and handling schedules, infections control and treatment room management. Working in an oral surgery department, the dental assistants also must know how to scrub for surgeries which isn’t something that many get the opportunity to do,” explained Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Rendel Basiga, NMRTC Bremerton Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery department leading petty officer with dental technician specialty training.
Basiga, from San Jose, California, has been involved in oral surgery since he enlisted in 2012.
“The ability to help others and being able to work closely with patients and also at times be the connection between the patient and the doc is gratifying,” said Basiga. “Dental assistants play a significant role in the patient’s experience.”
Part of that role, Basiga insists, centers on the prevention of cavities and being able to offer explanations to patients on the need to brush and floss regularly, both necessary for overall dental health and wellness.
Yet perhaps no role is more crucial for a dental assistant that their direct impact in helping sustain the operational readiness of deployable units.
“Dental assistants help with dental readiness by taking yearly radiographs on all patients and assisting the doc with the dental exam by documenting treatment needs and the patients’ dental readiness classification,” noted Basiga. “Dental assistants in the Navy also handle many readiness reports and inform patients when they are due for their annual dental exam.”
“All of our dental assistants do way more work than we [dentists] ever do. We could not do what we do in our role without them,” added Cmdr. Douglas Steffy, NMRTC Bremerton oral radiologist.
The Navy’s dental readiness classifications for all patients provides a timely indicator of every command’s operational readiness. It’s designed to assess Navy commands to predict – and prevent if needed – dental emergencies from being a root cause of a problem impacting that readiness.
There are four classifications; Class I patients are good to go with no dental treatment expected in a year. Class II, a patient may just need minor or elective treatment such as a dental cleaning or a small filling. Class III indicates that urgent or emergency treatment is required, usually due to an active dental disease. The decayed part of the tooth must be removed and filled, or it could get much worse within a year. Class IV refers to any patient who hasn’t had a dental exam within the year and/or their dental classification is unknown.
There are many Navy dentists who have specialized clinical expertise in a host of field besides endodontics and oral and maxillofacial surgery such as prosthodontics, orthodontics and periodontics. It’s the dental assistant’s job to be prepared to help with those dental disciplines.
“The most challenging aspect of being a dental assistant is having to know how to assist for all dental specialties but not always working in that specialty,” stated Basiga.
Despite their patient load in Basiga’s department, there has been time set aside each day to show appreciation for Dental Assistant Recognition Week which included an ice cream social and guest visit by Capt. Patrick Fitzpatrick, Naval Hospital Bremerton director and NMRTC Bremerton commanding officer.
“They really do great work to keep our Sailors ready. Dental readiness is of high importance to our Navy operational fleet,” remarked Fitzpatrick.
The full scope of dental services provided by the department – and clinics at Naval Base Kitsap Bangor and Naval Station Everett - include general and comprehensive dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery, oral maxillofacial radiology, endodontics, prosthodontics, digital dentistry and dental hygiene.
There are 15 active-duty dentists, two civil service dentists, and eight contracted dental hygienists providing the needed care and service to over 12,300 active-duty beneficiaries. The command also provides treatment facility support and dental services to multiple additional platforms during their Selected Restricted Availability periods at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
The dental team has recently been able to leverage updated advancements in virtual surgical planning and 3D printing to perform full mouth rehabilitation. That development has reduced the number of surgeries required for each case down to one, increased surgical predictability, and minimized Sailors’ time away from their deploying operational platforms.
For those wondering, there is dental decorum for enjoying ice cream. The recommendation is for a person to brush their teeth approximately 30 to 60 minutes afterwards.
It’s also advocated for those with any questions or concerns about their oral health to contact the nearest dental assistant. They’re sure to get to the root of the issue.
| Date Taken: | 03.10.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.10.2023 15:57 |
| Story ID: | 440179 |
| Location: | BREMERTON , WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 190 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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