MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. – The Maxwell Medical Group's Dental Flight is taking a significant step to boost Airman readiness by restoring advanced in-house oral surgery capabilities and integrating digital dentistry to provide faster, more comprehensive care to the installation's active-duty population.
To better support this readiness posture, the clinic is now equipped to handle complex procedures that were previously outsourced.
“They've been referring out a lot of procedures: root canals, implants, wisdom teeth,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Thomas Hardison, Maxwell Medical Group comprehensive dentist. “And so being here and having the training to do those procedures brought a lot of care back in-house.”
The dental flight’s role is critical in clearing Airmen for deployment, often requiring the team to react with urgency to meet short-notice mission requirements.
“When patients are deploying, we ensure that they are ready to go. If they do have things that are limiting them from going, we will stop what we're doing to get them out the door,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Ernessie Ladouceur, Maxwell Medical Group dental flight chief.
While bringing back sedation capabilities has been the most recent focus at the clinic, there are several types of procedures the flight also aims to bring back.
“We'll do implants, sinus lifts, ridge augmentation, and other periodontal surgeries,” said Hardison.
Modernization has been a key component of the clinic's enhanced capabilities, with a renewed focus on digital dentistry. This shift reduces chair time for patients and improves the precision of care through advanced technology.
“We have two 3D printers up and running now,” said Hardison. “We do most everything digitally now. So, we scan everything, 3D print models, and mill restorations.”
Keeping these advanced procedures within the military health system provides a direct benefit to the patient by ensuring all their medical information is centralized and accessible.
“I think the impact is the continuity of care. More patients are being able to have their care here with us and not seeing a provider off base,” said Ladouceur. “It’s one less thing they have to worry about.”
The flight’s core function is ensuring every Airman is medically prepared for global operations.
“The unit's overall mission is to make sure that our active-duty members are able to be fit and ready,” said Ladouceur. “So that way when they're out there, they're not having to worry about something like a toothache.”