thedrifter
04-25-03, 06:28 AM
Submitted by: Headquarters Marine Corps
Story Identification Number: 2003424125851
Story by Doris Ryan, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
GREAT LAKES, Ill. (Apr. 24, 2003) -- It's no ordinary dental chair for deployed Marines and there is nothing ordinary about the stool, the hand-held dental x-ray unit, the sink or the myriad of other items used to treat dental casualties on the battlefield. The Marine Expeditionary Force Dental Battalion's primary mission is to provide the best dental care with a focus on emergency care in all operational environments. A research team from the Naval Institute for Dental and Biomedical Research, Great Lakes, makes sure the Marines only get the best.
"To provide dental care in the field requires dental equipment that has been field-tested to ensure it can withstand the challenges of all operational environments, and that is what our team is doing," according to Capt. James Ragain, Dental Corps, the NIDBR commander.
Part of their job is to find equipment that is light, mobile and rugged and similar to equipment found in a dental clinic so no additional training would be required to use the equipment in the field."
Early this year, a 10 member team, including the Navy researchers and their Air Force counterparts from the U.S. Air Force Dental Investigation Service, began a joint project to test, evaluate and validate new and existing components that make up the field dental operatory or dental treatment room, commonly known to
Navy Medicine as Authorized Dental Allowance List 662.
There are three phases to the research plan. Phase one, started in January and completed in March, included reviewing commercially available equipment and determining that it meets the requirements of the Marine Corps, the American Dental Association and the International Standards Organization.
During phase two, currently underway, the new equipment is subjected to weathering in environmental chambers, which cycles the equipment through extreme climate conditions, dust and vibration. Then the weathered equipment is tested a second time. A new environmental chamber is under construction at NIDBR, and will be operational this summer.
The equipment that survived the weathering technique will then be field tested by dental officers assigned to the Dental Battalions, as well as the research dentists from NIDBR and DIS. According to Ragain, researchers hope to deploy with the Dental Battalions this fall.
Details are being worked out to send the teams into the jungles of Southeast Asia and the Artic Circle. The equipment will be evaluated and graded by calibrated examiners, as well as the Navy dentists assigned to the Marine Dental Battalions.
In about 12 months, the research team will provide a report to the Dental Officer of the Marine Corps listing the equipment best suited for use in the field and inclusion in ADAL 662.
"All of our research at NIDBR is militarily relevant, scientifically sound, and product oriented," said Ragain. "The ADAL project is a great example of joint military medical research. In this particular project, we have Navy and Air Force researchers working together to deliver a product that will improve the delivery of dental care in the field to Marines by Navy dentists."
Sempers,
Roger
Story Identification Number: 2003424125851
Story by Doris Ryan, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
GREAT LAKES, Ill. (Apr. 24, 2003) -- It's no ordinary dental chair for deployed Marines and there is nothing ordinary about the stool, the hand-held dental x-ray unit, the sink or the myriad of other items used to treat dental casualties on the battlefield. The Marine Expeditionary Force Dental Battalion's primary mission is to provide the best dental care with a focus on emergency care in all operational environments. A research team from the Naval Institute for Dental and Biomedical Research, Great Lakes, makes sure the Marines only get the best.
"To provide dental care in the field requires dental equipment that has been field-tested to ensure it can withstand the challenges of all operational environments, and that is what our team is doing," according to Capt. James Ragain, Dental Corps, the NIDBR commander.
Part of their job is to find equipment that is light, mobile and rugged and similar to equipment found in a dental clinic so no additional training would be required to use the equipment in the field."
Early this year, a 10 member team, including the Navy researchers and their Air Force counterparts from the U.S. Air Force Dental Investigation Service, began a joint project to test, evaluate and validate new and existing components that make up the field dental operatory or dental treatment room, commonly known to
Navy Medicine as Authorized Dental Allowance List 662.
There are three phases to the research plan. Phase one, started in January and completed in March, included reviewing commercially available equipment and determining that it meets the requirements of the Marine Corps, the American Dental Association and the International Standards Organization.
During phase two, currently underway, the new equipment is subjected to weathering in environmental chambers, which cycles the equipment through extreme climate conditions, dust and vibration. Then the weathered equipment is tested a second time. A new environmental chamber is under construction at NIDBR, and will be operational this summer.
The equipment that survived the weathering technique will then be field tested by dental officers assigned to the Dental Battalions, as well as the research dentists from NIDBR and DIS. According to Ragain, researchers hope to deploy with the Dental Battalions this fall.
Details are being worked out to send the teams into the jungles of Southeast Asia and the Artic Circle. The equipment will be evaluated and graded by calibrated examiners, as well as the Navy dentists assigned to the Marine Dental Battalions.
In about 12 months, the research team will provide a report to the Dental Officer of the Marine Corps listing the equipment best suited for use in the field and inclusion in ADAL 662.
"All of our research at NIDBR is militarily relevant, scientifically sound, and product oriented," said Ragain. "The ADAL project is a great example of joint military medical research. In this particular project, we have Navy and Air Force researchers working together to deliver a product that will improve the delivery of dental care in the field to Marines by Navy dentists."
Sempers,
Roger