Dental lab technicians create smiles one tooth at a time

by Air Force Staff Sgt. Sheila deVera
JBER Public Affairs

4/15/2014 - JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska  -- When service members seek medical attention for broken teeth or dental damage prevention, the first thing that comes to their mind is to see a dentist.

The 673d Dental Squadron provides comprehensive dental care for active duty personnel.

Once a patient is seen, the dentist will provide the dental lab an impression of the prescription they need to make.

The dental lab works behind the scenes creating fixed and removable prosthodontics and acrylic appliances.

"We are in charge of fabricating prostheses or whatever appliance the dentist needs," said Air Force Staff Sgt. James Berryman, 673d DS lab technician, "We make everything from a single crown, to dentures, retainers, night and sports guards."

Depending on the requirement, most of the requests are done in-house.

"Sometimes it's a quick turn-around where we can turn in the request in a day," Berryman said, "It can also take longer depending on the complexity of the case."

Although the dental lab technicians do not see the patients, they provide an accurate replica of their teeth by the impression they get from the dentist.

In addition to fixing prosthondontics and appliances, the dental lab also ensures service members are able to maintain dental readiness so they are worldwide deployable.

"The dental clinic classifies members according to their oral health," the eight-year veteran said. "So if a member is in Class III, they cannot deploy because they will have a dental emergency that will require treatment. It is our job to make sure we make whatever appliance they need so their readiness is where it needs to be."

On average, the dental lab produces an average of 10 to 20 impressions a day.

The lab also supports the Sleep Disorder Center by providing an oral appliance for obstructive sleep apnea patients.

"Instead of wearing the loud continuous positive airway pressure machine, they can wear the oral appliance instead," the 673d DS Dental Lab Flight Commander Air Force Maj. Angela Stanton said.

Because of the growing support, the dental lab has a trained technician to fit an oral appliance to sleep apnea patients here at JBER.

"The turn-around for an in-house oral appliance [for sleep apnea patients] is between two and three weeks instead of a six-week turnaround when we used to send them out to Colorado." Stanton said.

Customer service and dental health are only two aspects of the level of service 673d DS provides its customers.

To Berryman, nothing is as rewarding as having patients tell them that they have changed their life. "This isn't all because of us, but I'm glad we play some part in it," he said.