European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 26, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                To your health gaps in dental care. _ a amps Janet d Agostin o routine dental can is not considered an authorized medical Benefit for military family members and retirees living overseas or in the United states. By Janet d Agostino medical writer the dental chair is sometimes a meeting Point for angry patients and frustrated dentists. Family members civilians and retirees Are upset because they often have Long Waits for appointments. Dentists like air Force capt. Tim Claseman Are frustrated because they work Long hours and yet cannot treat All the patients who want or need dental care. A a lot of the patients we see done to want to wait. They feel they should be seen immediately Quot said Claseman who until last month was a dentist at the air Force clinic at Rhein main a West Germany. Unfortunately Waits Are inevitable at most army air Force and Navy dental clinics overseas. Routine dental care unlike medical care is not considered an authorized Benefit for military family members or retirees living overseas or in the United states. Anne Fantacone an army family member tried for a year after her annual exam to Book follow up appointments at the army dental clinic in Vicenza Italy to have several cavities filled. The cavities grew worse and she eventually had them filled by going to dental sick Call. Shelly Moore has postponed having a cavity refilled because with two Young children she does not want to wait for an appointment at the Rhein main clinic. Quot you sometimes have to sit there for several hours a said Moore who is married to air Force staff sgt. David Moore of the 435th Aerial port so. Or. It. Col Bruce Hall assistant base dental surgeon said he frequently hears complaints from patients especially those new to Europe who do not understand Why they do not have the same priority for dental care As Active duty service members. Overseas military dental clinics Are not staffed sized or financed to provide total care for family members. Care is available but on a space available basis Only. The exception is emergency problems which Are treated around the clock. The staffing for dental clinics is based on the number of Active duty service members in a Given area whose dental needs must be met first said or. Col James Howard Safe command dental surgeon. Military dentists still spend much of their time caring for family members. In 1989, 38 percent of the dental work done by air Force dentists in Europe was for family members. Quot it s not As much As wed like to do but it does represent hopefully our commitment to taking care of our family members Quot Howard said. More than 45 percent of the total care provided by army dentists in Europe is for family members said or. Col John j. Cuddy assistant chief of staff for dental services for 7th medical come in Heidelberg West Germany. The amount of time a family member Waits for a dental appointment depends on the location of the clinic the number of dentists and what dental procedure the patient requires. Quot at some of our Small bases people get everything they need Quot Howard said. Quot other places they will give you one appointment for a routine filling. If you need More you come in on a standby basis. At some places we can to even give you one routine appointment Quot because the dentists Are so Busy. Services for specialized dental care such As orthodontics Are even More restrictive. Priority is usually Given to people who arrive overseas with braces and those with the most severe problems. The air Force and army try to give family members an annual dental exam and cleaning. Additional dental work such As a filling must be done at another appointment. Scheduling of space available appointments for follow up care works differently for the army and air Force and can vary from clinic to clinic. In the air Force standby opportunities for routine dental care Are created when a regularly scheduled patient either cancels or Breaks an appointment. Fill in patients Are then taken from a standby waiting list based on the order of sign up the time available and the amount and kind of treatment. Most patients on the waiting list Are treated that Day. Family members at Rhein main May wait anywhere from five minutes to four hours to get a space available appointment said tech sgt. Donna Fetterer noncommissioned officer in charge of the reception desk at the base clinic. Patients Are More willing to wait once they understand How the overseas dental system works she said. Quot we end up with happier patients once we Tell them what a going on. I done to like telling you you can to be  both the army and air Force Are trying to find ways within current restrictions to provide More dental care for family members. A amps l. Emmett Lewis or. For Many kinds of medical or dental care Long Waits Are nearly inevitable. For example the army holds night and saturday dental clinics for family members in some communities. Both services run preventive dental programs for children and set aside appointments during Holiday seasons for returning College students. Quot we re getting the Mission done for Active duty Quot now we re trying to direct efforts toward family members Howard said. Service members and their families coming to Europe Are encouraged to have dental problems taken care of before moving overseas. They Are urged to enrol in the dependent dental plan a Cost sharing program that started about two years ago and covers most routine dental care. The dental plan is not available overseas. Family members can choose to go to a local dentist but the costs for any Type of civilian dental care Are not covered by the civilian health and medical program of the uniformed services champs. Civilian dental care at least in Germany can be quite expensive and German dentists May use techniques different from those to which american dental patients Are accustomed. Page 16 a a a the stars and stripes tuesday june 26,1990