Team Dover’s Dental Clinic wins Air Force Award

Chief Master Sgt. Kathleen Ross, 436th Logistics Readiness Squadron superintendent, receives dental care from Maj. Rebecca Brincks, 436th Aerospace Medicine Squadron dental flight dentist, March 3, 2017, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. The dental clinic was recognized as the Air Force’s 2016 Medium Dental Clinic of the Year . (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jared Duhon)

Team Dover’s Dental Clinic wins Air Force Award

Maj. Rebecca Brincks and Senior Airman Bryan Henry, 436th Aerospace Medicine Squadron dental flight dentist and dental technician respectively, remove a false tooth March 3, 2017, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. In 2016, the dental clinic provided dental care valued at more than $2.2 million. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jared Duhon)

Team Dover’s Dental Clinic wins Air Force Award

Senior Airman Bryan Henry, 436th Aerospace Medicine Squadron dental flight dental technician, prepares a temporary tooth for a patient March 3, 2017, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. During the award period, the clinic ensured 99.5% of the base's active duty population was cleared to deploy. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jared Duhon)

Team Dover’s Dental Clinic wins Air Force Award

A variety of dental products the 436th Aerospace Medicine Squadron dental flight can provide to patents sit on a table March 7, 2017, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. From standard dental needs, such as false teeth and mouth guards to aircrew ear pieces, the dental flight ensures confidence and deployment readiness. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jared Duhon)

Team Dover’s Dental Clinic wins Air Force Award

Master Sgt. John Maynard, 436th Aerospace Medicine Squadron dental flight NCO in charge of the laboratory element, builds a wax tooth March 7, 2017, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. The wax tooth is used to create a negative mold, which is later filled with different materials to become the final product. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jared Duhon)

Team Dover’s Dental Clinic wins Air Force Award

Published March 8, 2017
By Staff Sgt. Jared Duhon
436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- The 436th Aerospace Medicine Squadron’s dental flight was recognized, February 2017, as the Air Force’s 2016 Medium Dental Clinic of the Year.

The dental clinic currently operates as a team of six dentists, 18 dental technicians and serves 3,700 active duty patients. This is the second time they have won this award in the last five years.

“This award is not only a testament to the hard work and dedication of the personnel of the dental operations flight but also a reflection of the commitment of the men and women of Dover Air Force Base as a whole,” Capt. Matthew Pastewait, 436th AMDS dentist. “With support from leadership at all levels, we frequently examine our internal processes and look for ways to provide the highest quality of care for our patients while maintaining a high rate of readiness.”

The award highlights the clinics dedication to Team Dover and its mission to “Deliver Excellence.” During runway construction last year, many of Team Dover members followed the installation’s C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft temporarily located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. During this time, many of the Airmen were at risk of going overdue on readiness on dental items but the clinic was still able to maintain 99.5% base readiness, through a proactive partnership with JB MDL.

“What really set us apart from other clinics was our readiness numbers,” said Master Sgt. Chandra Hines , 436th AMDS flight chief. “Even while our members were away for the runway construction, we were proactive and were able to work out a deal with the dental clinic at JB MDL to do the exams for our members, just to keep them from going overdue.”

Keeping everyone fit to fight and getting short turn around on appointments can be a difficult task when manned appropriately, but over the summer the dental clinic dropped to three doctors and yet were still able to maintain short turnarounds, providing care the majority of the time to Airmen only 9 days after care was requested, well below the Air Force goal.

“During the summer we went down 50% of our providers,” Hines said. “We were still able to maintain 9 days access to care, where as it was expected to go up during that time.”

The squadron’s dedication to timely healthcare directly affects the installation’s readiness and mission success.

“In line with our Dental mission, [we] directly improve the oral health of our base population by examining, diagnosing, and treating various diseases and conditions.” Pastewait said. “In turn, our work contributes to the Air Force mission by allowing our patients to deploy, attend training programs, or simply return to work right here at home.”