Utah dental team provides villagers reason to smile during African Lion '10

By Staff Sgt. Brock Jones
U.S. Marine Forces Africa

(5/21/10) -- The sounds and smells of a dentist's office can be off-putting to some, but for those who suffer from tooth pain, the sound of a high-speed dental drill is often music to their ears. The dental team of the 151st Expeditionary Medical Group of the Utah Air National Guard, provided just such music to hundreds of men, women and children in the villages of Manizla and Tafingult, two of the five towns in the Taroudant region of Morocco that the 151st EMG is scheduled to visit during the humanitarian and civil assistance (HCA) portion of Exercise African Lion 2010.

"With the help of the Moroccan dentists, we're seeing anybody who comes through and trying to do everything we can to help them out," said Lt. Col. Shannon Lawson of Erda, Utah, dentist and officer in charge of the 151st EMG's dental clinic. "We have the capability of restoring teeth so if they're not damaged in the nerve of the tooth, we can fix them up."

In addition to fixing cavities, Moroccan and U.S. dentists also had to remove dozens of teeth that were beyond the point of repair in the name of alleviating pain and discomfort.

"Our first edict is to not make (the patient) worse by what we do," said Lawson. "If it doesn't look like the tooth is going to get better, we don't want the patient to be in long-term pain so we have to take it out."

In order to provide the best care possible, the 151st EMG dental team requires both well-trained personnel and equipment specialized to allow dentists to work in austere conditions.

In addition to Lawson, the 151st EMG's dental team during African Lion '10 consists of Maj. Matthew Ghiz, dentist, Master Sgt. Roger Wervin, clinic noncommissioned officer in charge, Staff Sgt. Scott Peltier, biomedical equipment technician, Tech. Sgt. Christina Jaramillo, laboratory technician, and Senior Airman Brianne Wilkins, medic.

Jaramillo and Wilkes normally work in other medical sections but volunteered to help as dental assistants for African Lion 2010 in order that the dental section of the HCA be able to help more people during their short stay in Morocco.

"So we can help as many people as possible in the short amount of time we're here, they're bringing in medics (and others) to help with the dental side so that the dental hygienist can sterilize and get all the equipment prepared and keep everything flowing a little quicker so that we can do the most good," said Jaramillo. "It's always fun to learn something new. I'm happy to be here helping out."

Wervin was glad to have the extra help with the non-stop hustle of the dental clinic.

"Jaramillo and Wilkins volunteered to help us," said Wervin, who normally spends his time assisting one of the dentists. "They're doing a great job; their being here makes it possible for me to attend to other important things."

Those "other important things" included, among others, patient flow, dental tool sterilization, and ensuring equipment is working the way it should.

The dentistry equipment necessary to provide dental work in areas like Manizla and Tafingult requires a significant amount of time to set up, more than most other medical specialties that the 151st EMG provides.

With the help of Wervin and others, Peltier, a biomedical equipment technician with the 151st EMG, as well as a jack of all trades, was in charge of making sure the generator, air compressors and other equipment was set up properly and performed as needed during the long days.

Peltier said that the majority of his work comes both before and after the day's patients have come and gone, and that he helps in every way he can in between.

"I guess you could say that I'm willing to assist any and all with whatever they need," he said while taking newly-sterilized dental tools out of a steam autoclave.

With everything taken care of by both regular and volunteer dental staff, the Moroccan and American dentists were able to concentrate on alleviating mouth pain, which they were able to do effectively despite the difficulties that are always a part of working in out-of-the-way areas.

"The biggest difficulty is always going to be the language barrier, but we have our interpreters and the Moroccan staff we're working with to help with that," said Wervin, who has been to Morocco three times. He added that he enjoys the challenges associated with providing dental care to those who don't normally have access to it.

"I enjoy coming to Morocco for HCAs. Every time it's something new and exciting," he said.

When the dental team of the 151st EMG returns to Utah following African Lion 2010, they will have provided the sweet music of relief to many hundreds of Moroccans who came to them in pain and left their makeshift clinic with more of a reason to smile.