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BREMERTON, Wash. - Dental Assistant Week at Naval Hospital Bremerton’s Dental Clinics at Branch Health Clinic Bangor and BHC Everett might have come and gone, but the respect, regard and recognition of the technicians is a yearly theme.
According to Lt. Cmdr. Marjorie Wytzka, BHC Bangor officer in charge, August S. Cerera is the epitome of a dental assistant.
“He does it all. We have received numerous feedback on the great work he does helping patients that come in to the dental clinic,” said Wytzka.
“He’s the one that makes it happen,” echoed Terence Swiatkowski, dental provider.
Cerera is a Bremerton, Washington, native who has worked at BHC Bangor Dental Clinic since 2007.
The clinic provides dental services that include periodontics, endodontics, on top of weekday sick calls, appointments and examinations.
Cerera came into his position driven by the aspiration to move beyond working multiple jobs and start an actual career in the medical field.
“I chose being in dental because it definitely sounded like something I could do to help others. My dad is retired Navy and it’s been great working with the military. The demographics of our patients tend to be different than the civilian world. They are younger and the examinations and work we do is to get them ready to deploy. So what we do is important for readiness,” said Cerera, noting that such routine examinations are an annual responsibility that ensures all Navy personnel are fit for duty as well as deployment.
Among duties that Cerera handles are patient scheduling, ordering supplies, instrument prepping, operating cleanliness, equipment maintenance and sterilization, and providing necessary hands-on support to his provider.
“Being able to do as much as I can makes me more versatile and flexible in my position. I like to think I’m learning something more, something new, every day,” Cerera said.
Examinations start in the morning at the clinic, which regularly handles patient flow from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Cerera attests that one day they handled between 40 and 50 patients. If there are operations scheduled for a particular day, he might assist with five in the morning and another three in the afternoon.
If there is a common theme among all patients who are scheduled ... it’s that most would really not be there. In fact, anywhere else might be better. This is where Cerera’s customer service ability comes into play.
“We go out of our way to advocate the importance of dental care. We know there are those who don’t know and are clueless to what they need done. We hold a consultation with the patient and go over the evaluation with each one. For example, if a tooth has decay which is also a cavity, or if there’s an abscessed tooth which means it’s infected, we’ll go through step-by-step on what needs to be done, and explain what we’re doing and why. We try to make them as comfy as we can,” explained Cerera, adding that patients tend to leave a lot better than when they arrived at the clinic.
Cerera cites that there are patients who have really had no regular dental care access before the military. Part of his job is to make up for that and let every patient know they now have reliable dental care.
“We not only give them the dental care they need but we also give them dental education. I’ve had one patient that has needed a lot of work and he always schedules with Dr. Swiatkowski and myself because we have established a relationship built on trust with him,” said Cerera.
Still, there are days when a patient can be difficult and not overly cooperative. When he began at the clinic, Cerera acknowledged that he would get frustrated in trying to handle such a situation, but he has since grown and become more confident.
“I realize now that I just need to do a little extra work at such a time, and patiently explain what it is we’re doing,” Cerera shared.
One of Cerera’s goals as a dental assistant is to make sure that when a Sailor or Marine comes in for the screening that they get properly assessed and make sure that if they have any immediate or emergency dental needs, that they get taken care of in a timely manner. It can be costly if a service member is sent on deployment and then it turns out that dental care is needed, which can mean lost manpower hours, logistical expenditures and travel costs. It all adds up. Before any patient departs from here, they will know what category they are concerning their dental readiness.
There are four classifications for Dental Readiness. Class 1: Patients not requiring dental treatment or reevaluation within 12 months. Class 2: Patients who have oral conditions that, if not treated or followed up, have the potential but are not expected to result in dental emergencies within 12 months. Class 3: Patients who have oral conditions that if not treated are expected to result in dental emergencies within 12 months. Patients should be placed in Class 3 when there are questions in determining classification between Class 2 and Class 3. Class 4: Patients who require dental examinations. This includes patients who require annual or other required dental examinations and patients whose dental classifications are unknown.
The Dental Directorate – BHC Bangor, BHC Everett, and NHB’s Oral Surgery - maintained an Operational Dental Readiness of 97 percent and Dental Health Index of 60 percent for 10,100 fleet and shore based personnel in the Pacific Northwest, which exceeded Navy Medicine productivity goals by 8 percent.
Cerera has done his share and more in helping achieve and maintain the high dental readiness.
“We have great teamwork here to get the job done. I love my job and love it here,” Cerera said.
| Date Taken: | 03.12.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.12.2015 15:18 |
| Story ID: | 156806 |
| Location: | BREMERTON, WA, US |
| Hometown: | BREMERTON, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 119 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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