Task Force Liberty dentist aids Afghan woman with urgent care

Photo By Tech. Sgt. Clayton Lenhardt | U.S. Navy Captain Jerome Ragadio, Task Force Liberty task force surgeon, oversees medical support for Liberty Village and performed emergency dental care on an Afghan woman at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, Sept. 17, 2021. The Department of Defense, through U.S. Northern Command, and in support of the Department of Homeland Security, is providing transportation, temporary housing, medical screening, and general support for at least 50,000 Afghan evacuees at suitable facilities, in permanent or temporary structures, as quickly as possible. This initiative provides Afghan personnel essential support at secure locations outside Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Clayton Lenhardt)  

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NJ, UNITED STATES

09.20.2021

Story by Tech. Sgt. Clayton Lenhardt 

Operation Allies Welcome - Operation Allies Refuge   

For weeks Neelab had been unable to speak or eat comfortably due to dental pain.

“There was an Afghan in need of urgent care,“ recalled U.S. Navy Capt. Jerome Ragadio, Task Force Liberty task force surgeon. “She has braces and the wire from her braces was sticking out and just jabbing into the inside of her cheek. She was in obvious pain.”

Neelabs’ dental health was no longer a priority as the security landscape in her home country changed.

“I was scheduled to get the wires changed in Afghanistan,” Neelab said. “All of a sudden, we got an email to get evacuated.”

The evacuation postponed her routine dental appointment indefinitely.
“I was scared and I knew that I cannot go [to the dentist] because all highways were taken by Taliban,” said Neelab. “I had to wait.”

Neelab was also uncertain whether her female Afghan dentist would be able to continue practicing dentistry.

After a journey of 16 days and more than 6,800 miles later, Neelab’s braces, designed to improve her orthodontic health, were now causing her serious issues.

The protruding wire rubbed her jaw and created a mouth sore, Neelab described. Then the pain radiated throughout her head, down her neck, and into her arm on one side.

With no dental services yet available, Ragadio received the phone call asking to help Neelab. Though serving in the role of TF Liberty surgeon, Ragadio has been a dentist for 17 years.

We were lucky to be able to treat this case, Ragadio said. I knew I would be able to provide the help needed.

Ragadio used his relationship with Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst’s 87th Medical Group to obtain dental wax to cover the exposed orthodontic wire to protect Neelab’s cheek.

While the issue only required a simple fix and took place in about five minutes, it prevented a more severe medical issue.

“In this case, this would have kept jabbing into her cheek and possibly causing laceration and excessive bleeding,” Ragadio said.

Neelab also appreciates the pain relief and care she received from Ragadio.

“He was really helpful,” said Neelab. “It was really amazing.”

Ragadio was also grateful that he was at the right place at the right time to render aid, even if it was outside the scope of his primary mission.

“It means the world to me that I was able to use my skills,” Ragadio said. “I definitely enjoyed that. Even though I’m not here in that capacity, I was able to use my dental skills.”

• Date Taken: 09.20.2021
• Date Posted: 09.23.2021 17:01
• Story ID: 405792
• Location: JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NJ, US