European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 14, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes Friday August 4,19b7 letters army s dental care procedures explained i am furious in Maryland Only emergency dental services were available through the army. Since i have three children and denial visits were s-10 each my children s needs Fame first. I thought 1 could get some work done now that we Are overseas and the military will serve us. 1 guess i missed the year of the  last year 1 attempted to make an appointment with the Furth denial clinic to look months to gel a reply. Finally the card came notifying me i could  Tor an appointment. The appointment i received was for a month later i went in for my exam and made an appointment for a cleaning the next week. After the cleaning i was Lold to come Back for fillings a Crown and to have my Wisdom tooth extracted. I returned for one tilling Ana made another appointment for two weeks later. Today was to be that next appointment. Due to unavoidable traffic on the autobahn i was 10 minutes late. I apologized for inc inconvenience but there was nothing i could do. When 1 arrived at the clinic 1 was told i was too Laic. The dentist would not see me but i could Call Back next week and see if there were any openings for new appointments. I have a Friend who called for an exam last month and was told no appointments were being made until 1988 1 do not want to wait until next year to have these things taken care of. 1 would rather have the dental insurance and be Able to choose my own dentist one who would treat me like a person rather than Deal with the army since i am in Germany i would also appreciate a list of German dentists who speak English i know enough German to get around but i would t want someone in my Mouth if i Don t know exactly what he is doing. Don t eel me wrong have enough patience 10 Wail months for a first visit. If they can i wait 10 minutes for someone to arrive May 1 not expect to be Given a new appointment at that time whoever said that peo ple stay in the army for the benefits obviously was not in today s army Sharon Goelz Fuerth Germany editor s note col. Robert a o net chief. Professional activities he. Till medical come replies 1 Welcome the Opportunity la address the writer s con Cerns about obtaining dental treatment. Congress has authorized thai dental care can be provided to family member on a space available basis but his care will not be permitted to interfere with the primary Mission of care to the Soldier. The number of dentists in inc army is based Only upon the number of Active duty soldiers. In the Nuorn Berg Fuerth Community there Are eight general dentists to provide routine dental care for 10,500 soldiers. In addition to these soldiers then Are 12,500 family Mem Bers who Are eligible for care on a space available basis. Because of the demand far care from Soldier and their families we have Hud to establish a waiting list for family members. This was done to insure that the sol Dier Hud priority of care and that family members received can in the order in which they signed up. Presently All family members can be seen Vrishin 45 working Days from their sign up time. After the examination appointments can be nude until la necessary work is completed a Small percentage of family Mem Bers Are asked to Call Back when we arc scheduled beyond a two week period. We Are Able to see 40-60 new adult family members each week. Children under be age of 14 Are presently Orvn on a walk in basis. There Are two major factors which contribute to de lays in family members obtaining denial care the first contribution Factor is the dental health of family members coming to Europe. Even though there Are qualified civilian dentists in the states Many people delay seeking care until coming overseas. This burdens the system on thin end. Individuals who have maintained their dental health and come to Europe require an average of four appointments while in Europe. Those who have not maintained their care require an average of nine appointments. The second Factor nosing delays is ule and failed appointments. Each month the Nourn Berjv Koch clinics see 2,800-3,000 patients. Of these 200 arrive late or fail to show up at All. To avoid this loss of our limited resources and tax dollars the entire stiff especially my receptionists try to lilt these appointments with other available patients. Unfortunately we can Only fill about 85 percent of these. If All patients arrived on Lime for All appointments we would not have a Long waiting list for family members. In inc Munth of june we lost 50 hours of professional time due to the above reasons. When Pati Enli foil to arrive Wilheln 10 minutes of their scheduled appointment we try to fill that Lime with another patient. The receptionists have two options when people arrive tale and their appointment has been filled with another. First they May we always in to Eccl the Large and will not cd a non containing cat food bul have Yello see this Section Ai Tell Palm Ormid As the other sections ii facility. I Hope this letter will Tufa drug univ Irani to be More creative in the wait Len a flu Nilu i Nuntz Hll Hurld Birkenef id Curnin