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    Like brother, like brother: Traveling the world, fixing teeth

    SALT LAKE CITY, UT, UNITED STATES

    10.29.2014

    Story by Sgt. 1st Class Stanley Maszczak 

    807th Medical Command (Deployment Support)

    SALT LAKE CITY - Depending on your relationship with your own relatives, you might think these brothers would be sick of each other by now. They aren’t.

    Two brothers: Both serving in the same U.S. Army Reserve unit for about 13 years; both lieutenant colonels in the 143rd Dental Company, out of Fort Douglas, Utah; both dentists; both traveling the world.

    “We sat next to each other in dental school at Virginia Commonwealth University,” said Lt. Col. Joe Cheever, as he sat next to his brother, Lt. Col. Scott Cheever, during this interview. “People told us, ‘Brothers will either kill each other or love each other,’ and it was fairly easy — we had a good experience.”

    Although they see each other regularly through their volunteer activities and service in the same Army Reserve unit, their different civilian employers give them some time apart.

    Joe, a Riverton, Utah, resident, had a private pediatric dentistry practice up until about a year ago, when he became a professor and now assistant dean of dentistry at Roseman University in South Jordan, Utah. Scott lives in Las Vegas and provides care in the dental clinic at the Veterans Affairs hospital there.

    Their parallel careers in the Army Reserve were not something they planned. Scott served as an enlisted soldier in a non-medical field before earning his commission.

    
“Back then I was a 97 Echo — a tactical field interrogator.”

    Known today as 35 Mikes, or human intelligence collectors, these military intelligence soldiers aren’t concerned with their subjects’ oral hygiene and potential cavities. Rather, they’re trained on things like interrogations and debriefings, human intelligence analysis, and foreign languages. Scott went to the Defense Language Institute and learned Russian.

    When Scott decided to make a career change in the military and started serving as an Army Reserve dentist, his deployment stories captivated Joe.

    “Scott was the motivation for my joining,” Joe said. “He went on a couple of humanitarian aid missions and said, ‘You’ve got to do this.’ And so I did.

    “Between the two of us, we’ve been on probably 15 or 16 humanitarian trips to Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and American Samoa — all providing dental care.”

    “Dental care is an extremely powerful mode of good will with a high payoff, because it’s a definitive treatment with results you can see right away,” Joe explained.

    

“You never forget,” Scott added. “They come in and they leave, and it changes their lives forever. Some people come in and they’re really, really rough. You alleviate a lot of suffering.”

    According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 60–90 percent of school children and nearly 100 percent of adults worldwide have dental cavities. Additionally, 15-20 percent of adults aged 35-44 years old have severe gum disease, which can result in tooth loss. In poor and disadvantaged population groups, the WHO says, risk for oral disease is even higher.

    “Those real-world missions are the high satisfaction parts of the Army,” Joe said. “It’s not when you’re taking a physical fitness test or completing mandatory online training. It’s when you’re out there doing something that not only enthralls you, but you see the effect. Dentistry’s kind of cool because it’s immediate — you see the broken tooth, and you fix it. That’s one of the great things about it that people don’t often recognize— it’s an immediate satisfaction for people.”

    Beyond the internal rewards of serving communities in need, the Cheevers believe the Army gives them more than they give the Army.

    “You add it all up and you’re going, ‘My life has been enriched so much because of wearing this uniform.’ You understand that you give a lot, but I think you get more,” Scott shared. “And I’ve said that for a long time.”

    “I think if your attitude is one of service,” Joe added, “You’ll always get more.”

    “Yes, there are sacrifices,” Scott acknowledged. “But the benefits are outstanding — good camaraderie and leadership, the opportunity to experience different cultures around the world, student loan repayments, professional retention bonuses ...”

    “... Even being able to buy affordable health insurance,” Joe interjected. “For some families, that’s just enormous.”

    Army Reservists who are not on full-time active duty are currently eligible to purchase health insurance through Tricare Reserve Select for about $50 per month for the soldier, or about $200 for the soldier and her or his family. The dental plan can be as low as $10 per month for just the soldier or around $80 per month for the soldier and her or his dependents.

    Because the Army Reserve recognizes the importance of proper dental care for its soldiers and how crippling a dental problem can be to a soldier’s readiness, drilling Army Reservists are also paid to attend a dental checkup at a civilian dentist near their home at least once annually. If the dentist finds anything that could cause the soldier to be placed in a non-deployable status, the soldier is then sent to a follow-up appointment to fix the issue(s) free of charge to the soldier.

    With soldiers’ personal dental needs attended to, it makes it much easier for them to stand ready to perform their duties anywhere around the world, including areas within U.S. borders.

    In addition to working in Central and South America, dentists in the Army Reserve are also called upon to participate in Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) missions that provide free dental care to underinsured and underserved populations within U.S. borders. And like other Army Reserve soldiers, they also deploy to combat zones.

    Scott has deployed to Kuwait, Afghanistan and twice to Iraq. Joe served two tours in Iraq.

    “Iraq was strangely intoxicating in a way,” Joe recalled, “because you realize just how good you’ve got it as you get over there and see what 14 hours on a plane can do.”


    “You definitely come back to America with a greater appreciation of the Constitution,” Scott added.

    

The Cheevers frequently reiterate their common values—intentional service to their fellow human beings, and good dental care.

    “Let’s face it,” Joe said. “In some countries, teeth are just 52 chances — 20 baby teeth and 32 adult teeth — to suffer the pain and humiliation of having something taken out or fixed. For some people, teeth are just a burden their whole lives. So to be able to just go and fix them and take them out when they’re broken, and to be kind and make them feel better — it’s just a real joy.”

    “We’ve definitely had a lot of experiences that set us apart from other dentists who don’t serve in the Army Reserve,” he added.

    “I think if more dentists knew and could experience what we’ve experienced,” Scott added, “there’d be a waiting line to get in.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 10.29.2014
    Date Posted: 10.29.2014 19:02
    Story ID: 146513
    Location: SALT LAKE CITY, UT, US
    Hometown: LAS VEGAS, NV, US
    Hometown: RIVERTON, UT, US
    Hometown: SALT LAKE CITY, UT, US

    Web Views: 1,155
    Downloads: 1

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