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08:47
Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Dental Readiness Class 1 Military Personnel Are Not All the Same! A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Zachary S McIntosh1, John W Simecek1,2
1Craniofacial Health & Restorative Medicine, Naval Medical Research Unit San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78234-6315, United States.
Military Medicine
|June 28, 2026
Summary
Dental treatments like fillings, retained third molars, and root canals have varying annual complication rates. Understanding these risks is crucial for managing dental emergencies (DEs) in military personnel.
Area of Science:
- Dental research
- Military medicine
- Public health
Background:
- Dental emergencies (DEs) significantly impact U.S. military readiness.
- Caries, third molars, and restorative issues cause 76.34% of deployment-related DEs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the impact of common dental treatments on the probability of experiencing a dental emergency.
- To quantify the risk associated with specific dental procedures.
Main Methods:
- Conducted literature searches across multiple databases (Gorgas, Ovid, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Wiley).
- Isolated and analyzed data on probabilities, odds ratios, and hazard ratios.
- Calculated mean 95% confidence intervals and annual failure rates using SAS and Excel.
Main Results:
- Estimated annual complication rates: 1.75% for fillings, 11.1% for retained third molars, and 3.16% for root canal treatments.
- Identified retained third molars as having the highest complication rate within one year.
Conclusions:
- Electronic health records and computational analysis can quantify DE risk.
- Further research with detailed patient data is needed to improve risk assessment for military dental officers.
- Standardized data collection on patient visits and dental restorations is essential for future studies.
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