The army goes rolling along.... Maximizing care through dental assistant expanded functions in a humanitarian mission

Dental Readiness Training Exercises (DENRETEs) are the military form of dental humanitarian missions. Most dental humanitarian missions focus on extractions and the provision of oral hygiene instructions. This paper describes a dental humanitarian mission, sponsored by the US Army Dental Command (DENCOM), to Honduras in 2003 and how expanded function dental assistants can increase the provision of dental care.

The US Army Southern Command requested a DENRETE for fiscal year 2003. A site visit revealed the absence of water fluoridation, high levels of dental disease, and a desire to have an American dental team perform the mission at the Escuela Lempira, a low-income elementary school in the Honduran capital city of Tegucigalpa.

DENCOM in conjunction with dental personnel performing a 6-month rotation with Joint Task Force Bravo performed a Pediatric Humanitarian mission in Tegucigalpa from 1 to 9 April 2003. During 6.5 treatment days, there were 416 patient encounters totaling 1490 treatment procedures. Over $90,000 in dental services were provided.

The 2003 Honduran DENRETE represented a changing paradigm from extraction-based dental missions toward providing comprehensive care aided by maximizing the use of dental assistants trained in expanded functions. With this philosophical shift in focused care, dental humanitarian missions have the ability to enhance the oral health of more children.