Mission Ready: FEDS_HEAL dental exams help ensure unit readiness

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Marnee A.C. Losurdo
  • 512th Airlift Wing
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  A dental team with the Federal Strategic Health Alliance, or FEDS_HEAL, provided dental examinations to 80 Liberty Wing reservists July 8 at the 512th Aerospace Medicine Squadron here.

"The goal is to have a good report on dental readiness," said Col. Vincent Floryshak, 512th Aerospace Medicine Squadron chief of dental services.

In order to deploy, reservists have to be trained, fit and medically qualified. Part of being medically qualified is having good oral health, said Colonel Floryshak.

The Department of Defense requires reservists to have an annual dental examination. This year the 512th Airlift Wing had 380 reservists who were not dentally qualified for duty, because they hadn't fulfilled this obligation.

The most common reason reservists give for not getting their annual dental exam is the cost, said Chief Master Sgt. Fred Traute, 512th Equipment Maintenance Squadron superintendent, who tracks his unit's dental compliance rates.

This can be due to the member not having insurance or their insurance doesn't cover all of the cost of the exam and X-rays, which can run up to $300 and doesn't include the price of any corrective procedures, he said.

In the Air Force Reserve, a military dentist performs a dental exam on unit members every third year. During the two intervening years a dental exam is to be performed by a civilian dentist at the member's own expense. If a reservist doesn't fulfill this requirement, they can be medically profiled, which means they're not able to earn pay or points towards retirement, said Colonel Floryshak.

It's not just a 512th AW issue but an Air Force Reserve Command issue, said the colonel. To alleviate this issue, AFRC brought in the FEDS_HEAL program to complete mass dental examinations at various Reserve units, which included the Liberty Wing.
FEDS_HEAL was created when the DoD discovered that the effect of poor dental health and other medical problems could prevent reservists and guardsmen from being activated or deployed, according to the FEDS_HEAL Web site.

"During our last activation, we had several 512th Airlift Wing members we couldn't deploy, because they had dental problems," said Col. David H. Wuest, 512th AW vice commander. "That's why the FEDS_HEAL visit was so important, because it not only assisted reservists in obtaining their annual exams, but helped the wing maintain its readiness."

FEDS_HEAL is a partnership between the Federal Occupational Health, Veterans Health Administration and a network of private providers. Their goal is to equip reservists with improved access to medical services, according to the FEDS_HEAL website. Some of the services provided include physical examinations, immunizations, HIV screenings, vision screening, lab work and dental examinations, as was the case for the 512th AW.

The dental team performing the mass examinations at the wing consisted of a dentist, dental assistant, computer technician and an X-ray technician.

"Basically, we bring a dental office to the site and everything is digital," said Dr. Lawerence Montgomery, the contracted dentist with the FEDS_HEAL program. "We do digital X-rays, perform a dental exam in less than 10 minutes and file the FEDS_HEAL paperwork."

Currently, it's not known if AFRC will fund visits from the FEDS_HEAL program next year, said Colonel Floryshak. But in any case, the medical squadron was grateful for the help.

"The medical squadron is working at 100 percent capacity and anything to help bring down the amount of reservists who do not have a dental exam on file is greatly appreciated," he said.