Photo By Kirk Frady | GARMISCH, Germany – More than 112 military dental practitioners, support staff and...... read more read more
GARMISCH, Germany – More than 112 military dental practitioners, support staff and guest speakers primarily from the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force convened in Garmisch, Germany recently to promote dental readiness, obtain continuing dental education credits and promote continued partnership among NATO and Allied partners.
The 67th Annual U.S. Army Dental Education Readiness Training Event, hosted by Medical Readiness Command, Europe and Defense Health Network Europe consisted of dental professionals and clinical staff from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force as well as representatives from the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force and German Bundeswehr. The annual dental training event is open to all Department of Defense dentists, NATO partner dentists and other affiliated dental providers.
The five-day multiservice and multinational dental training event consisted of presentations, guest speakers, and several hands-on demonstrations covering a variety of dental topics to include dental forensic dentoalveolar and maxillofacial fracture closed reduction, management of soft tissue trauma, treatment of dental trauma, repair of broken dentures, military working dog dentistry and MASCAL triage.
“The overall purpose of the training event was to empower dental professionals by delivering them twenty-five continuing education credits,” said Col. Kelley Tomsett, Assistant Chief of Staff for Dental Services Medical Readiness Command Europe and Chief Dental Officer Defense Health Network Europe. “The 5-day training event included didactic lectures, hands-on workshops, and in-depth discussions on state-of-the-art techniques, and collaborative training.
In addition to dental education and readiness, this year’s dental training event offered attendees the opportunity to build relationships and promote fellowship among sister services as well as NATO and Allied partners.
“Training events like this significantly enhance clinical and operational readiness, while fostering invaluable NATO camaraderie by bringing together a global network of experts and peers,” Tomsett added. “Having our NATO partners participate in these training events is critically important in strengthening bonds and partnerships and it also promotes increased integration and improves our interoperability and readiness in times of war.”
According to senior Army medical officials, dental readiness, and oral health are just as important as physical health. When a Soldier has problems with their teeth or gums, it can have a severe impact on their ability to perform their mission. And that impacts readiness.
“Dental readiness is critical when it comes to the deployment and overall effectiveness of our servicemembers,” said Tomsett. “A dental emergency in a deployed environment can be a significant liability to our fighting force. Oral health is a key component of readiness, and the importance of dental readiness cannot be overstated. In addition, the Army Dental Corps supports the Army’s readiness mission by promoting dental health; preventing and treating oral and dental disease; providing far forward dental treatment; and providing early treatment of severe oral and maxillofacial injuries.”
With dental readiness being one of the key focus areas of the dental training event, and considering the Army's overall focus on Soldier readiness, the Army dental community is constantly looking for ways to reduce Soldier down time so they can spend more time preparing for their wartime mission. As such, a critical component of readiness is maintaining good dental health.
“If a Soldier’s oral health is not properly maintained, it can result in the Soldier becoming nondeployable, and if already deployed, can render them non-mission-capable,” added Tomsett. “Again, the importance of dental readiness cannot be overstated.”
According to Army dental officials, it is the individual Soldier who has the most control over their dental health and readiness.
“Soldiers who incorporate good preventive dental hygiene practices prior to deployment are far less likely to become dental casualty’s secondary to disease,” said Tomsett “Individual preventive dental care practices include eating a balanced diet, brushing, and flossing of the teeth and gums on a regular basis, and abstaining from using tobacco products. These measures can effectively prevent the development of tooth decay and oral disease.”
According to senior Army officials, readiness is one of the top priorities for not just the Army, but for all branches of military service and supporting that readiness mission is the Army Dental Corps.
“The Army Dental Corps supports the Army’s Readiness mission by promoting dental health; preventing and treating oral and dental disease; providing far forward dental treatment; and providing early treatment of severe oral and maxillofacial injuries,” Tomsett added. “In addition, our Army dentists are responsible for ensuring that each Soldier has optimal oral health and is prepared for deployment without the risk of becoming a non-combat dental casualty.”
Army dental officials in charge of the training event indicated that planning is already underway for the 68th Annual Dental Education Readiness Training Event in October 2026.
| Date Taken: | 01.12.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 01.13.2026 07:50 |
| Story ID: | 556116 |
| Location: | DE |
| Web Views: | 38 |
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