Courtesy Photo | U.S. Army Reservist, Sgt. Tim Lewis, 912th Medical Company (Dental Services),...... read more read more
GONAIVES, Haiti – Extracting teeth is a common dental procedure performed during military humanitarian dental training exercises, and the Task Force Bon Voizen dental mission at Saint Nicolas Hospital in Saint Marc, Haiti, was no exception. In fact, according to the mission’s coordinator Capt. David Bourgeois, the 24-member team extracted around 375 teeth during the 10-day exercise that ran from May 30-June 8.
Replacing teeth for patients on a military humanitarian mission is another story altogether, and much of that story belongs to two “older” Army Reserve soldiers, from the 912th Medical Company (Dental Services) out of Independence, Mo. – highly skilled dental laboratory technicians who fabricate partial- and complete dentures.
Sgt. Robert Airrington, 39, and Sgt. Tim Lewis, 51, both returned to military service after earlier stints in the military. Airrington served in the Missouri Army National Guard as a military police officer in the late 80s and early 90s, and joined the Army Reserve as a dental laboratory technician in 2008. Lewis reentered military service as a dental lab tech at 48 after 10 years of service, 1986-1996, as a dental laboratory technician with the Air Force.
On June 5, a 16-year-old boy, Pierre Luiss, came to the clinic with a gap where one of his front teeth should have been. The supervising dentist determined that he was eligible for a removable flipper, or partial plate, with an affixed replacement tooth.
That’s all the info that Airrington and Lewis needed to spring into action. It was time to shift gears from assisting the dentists as dental technicians, to their chosen profession – dental laboratory technicians who fabricate teeth and generate smiles.
“DeLaurent [Army Maj. Guershon DeLaurent, 912th, the evaluating dentist] saw him and then gave us the opportunity to make him something that will change his life … give him a smile,” said Airrington, who hails from Chillowhee, Mo.
Creating that smile for Luiss, and other eligible patients, involves several steps beginning with the taking of an impression, explained Lewis, who lives in Bella Vista, Ark., and works as a dental lab tech at the Veterans Administration hospital in Fayettville, Ark.
The impression is then set in stone, which creates a model of the patient’s mouth, Lewis continued. Then the flipper is poured. A replacement tooth is chosen and affixed to the flipper. Next a hardening agent made of polymer and acylic is added to the flipper, and the apparatus is set aside to cure. Once cured, the flipper with tooth is sanded and polished – ready for fitting by the supervising dentist.
The young patient, Luiss, returned the next day after school let out and was promptly seen by his supervising dentist, Army Lt. Col. Michael Stypula, also of the 912th, who fitted him with the flipper and gave him some basic instructions on how to put it in, how to remove it and how to keep it clean.
Afterward, Luiss was given a small dental mirror and the smiles broke out all around. Through an interpreter, Luiss explained that his missing tooth affected his ability to speak well, and now that problem was corrected. Not surprisingly, he left the clinic with a smile … the one that Airrington promised to provide.
When not in uniform, Airrington owns and manages a roofing company in his hometown. In 2008 he returned to the Army as a Reservist as a hedge against the bad economy.
While motivated by the extra pay and benefits, it’s the humanitarian service missions that excite him. He’s volunteered for four missions since 2009, including stints aboard the U.S. Naval Hospital Ships Mercy and Cleveland.
When asked about his willingness to participate in more missions of this type, Airrington’s attitude was to the point. “Whenever they need me …” he said. “I’ve got 12 years to go until retirement and I’m going to stick it out.”
Lewis also reenlisted because of the reserve pay and retirement benefits. He had to drop down one pay grade and rank to E-4, specialist, and had to attend Warrior Leader Course training in order to regain the E-5, sergeant, pay grade and rank he enjoyed previously while in the Air Force.
Lewis is a prodigious runner and so the physical demands of WLC didn’t faze him. When he first got to WLC, the young soldiers called him “Grandpa.” After consistently outperforming most of them on the physical training, they started calling him “Bull,” he said.
“He’s awesome. I’ve been working with him now for two years and he’s done this [dental lab work] all his life,” Airrington said. “He’s owned his own business doing this as well.”
Giving Luiss a smile on June 6 didn’t signal the end of their day. They replaced a single tooth for a young woman, and then a flipper with four teeth for another patient. At the end of the day, when their compatriots were shutting down for the day, they received another patient – an older woman whose teeth were so deteriorated that all were scheduled to be pulled.
Airrington and Lewis swung into action again, getting the impression and then fashioning a complete set of dentures … a process that took almost all night. By the close of the next day, June 7, their patient had brand new teeth, top and bottom – and all the way around.
All told, from May 30 – June 8, Airrington and Lewis manufactured seven removable dentures, including the one complete set with 28 teeth, and seven flippers with 10 teeth. They also fabricated a palatal obturator for a young female patient who had never learned to speak due to her congenital cleft palate. She can now learn to sound out words. That’s a lot of new smiles.
Task Force Bon Voizen, New Horizons Haiti 2011, is a Commander, U.S. Southern Command sponsored, U.S. Army South conducted, joint foreign military interaction/humanitarian exercise under the command of the Louisiana National Guard. Task Force Bon Voizen is deploying U.S. military engineers and medical professionals to Haiti for training and to provide humanitarian services. Task Force Bon Voizen will build a school, two medical clinics and one latrine facility, as well as staff three medical clinics and one dental clinic between April 28 and June 25 in the Artibonite Department.
Please visit: Task Force Bon Voizen on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/tfbonvoizen for the latest New Horizons Haiti 2011 news and imagery.
| Date Taken: | 06.08.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.09.2011 10:40 |
| Story ID: | 71852 |
| Location: | GONAIVES, HT |
| Web Views: | 117 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Saint Marc citizens smile again … with new teeth, by MSG Paul Meeker, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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