Risk of dental disease non-battle injuries and severity of dental disease in deployed U.S. Army personnel.

Dental Disease and Non-Battle Injuries (D-DNBI) continue to be a problem among U.S. Army active duty (AD), U.S. Army National Guard (ARNG), and U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) deployed soldiers to Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. A previous study reported the annual rates to be 136 D-DNBI per 1,000 personnel for AD, 152 for ARNG, and 184 for USAR. The objectives of this study were to describe D-DNBI incidence and to determine risk factors for dental encounters and high severity diagnoses for deployed soldiers. The 78 diagnoses were classified into three categories based on severity. Poisson regression was used to compare D-DNBI rates and logistic regression was used to analyze the risk of high severity D-DNBI. In both campaigns, Reserve had a higher risk of D-DNBI than active duty. For Afghanistan, ARNG and USAR demonstrated over 50% increased risk of D-DNBI compared to AD. In Iraq, USAR had a 17% increased risk over AD. Females had a higher risk of D-DNBI (>50%) compared to males in both campaigns. High severity D-DNBI made up 2.77% of all diagnoses. Within Afghanistan, there was a 4.6% increased risk of high severity D-DNBI for each additional deployment month.

The incidence of dental disease nonbattle injuries in deployed U.S. Army personnel.

BACKGROUND: In the past, the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) and Army National Guard (ARNG) have exhibited lower levels of medical and dental readiness than active duty (AD) Soldiers when activated for deployment. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to compare dental disease and nonbattle injury (D-DNBI) incidence rates and describe the most common D-DNBI diagnoses in Army AD, ARNG, and USAR Soldiers deployed to Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn) and Afghanistan or Kuwait (Operation Enduring Freedom). METHODS: Data from the Center for AMEDD Strategic Studies (CASS) were used to determine D-DNBI encounter rates and diagnoses for deployed Army Soldiers. RESULTS: "Dental Caries" was the leading diagnosis (10.00%) for Soldiers in both theaters. For Operation Iraqi Freedom, D-DNBI rates were highest in 2010 at 144.05 per 1,000 Soldiers per year (AD 135.77, ARNG 151.39 and USAR 183.76). In comparison, D-DNBI rates in Operation Enduring Freedom were highest in 2012 with an overall rate of 85.77 per 1,000 Soldiers per year (AD 72.48, ARNG 129.38 and USAR 129.52). CONCLUSIONS: In both campaigns, the data suggest that ARNG and USAR Soldiers had higher D-DNBI rates when compared to AD Soldiers. Further investigation is needed to decrease D-DNBI rates and to determine risk factors that may influence D-DNBI rates among Army components during deployments.

Use of the Army Dental Command Corporate Dental Application as an electronic dental record in the Iraq theater of operations.

More than 97% of the dental encounters in Iraq between June 2009 and July 2010 were captured on an electronic dental record. Data from more than 56,000 patient encounters, with detailed treatment notes, and 19,000 DNBI surveys indicates that caries accounted for 22.5% of the dental emergency visits, pulpal disease requiring endodontic (root canal) therapy accounted for 20%, and visits associated with wisdom teeth (third molars) accounted for 4.2%. This data, in combination with the large numbers of one dental officer clinics, indicates that every dental officer must be proficient in endodontic and exodontia diagnosis and treatment. There is evidence that Dental Fitness Category 3 definitions should be revised.

Portable dentistry in an austere environment.

The availability and versatility of portable dental equipment can support the delivery of dental treatment in a wide variety of nontraditional settings. There is an ever-increasing demand for portable dental equipment that is lightweight, dependable, highly transportable, and easy to use and maintain. This article will discuss some of the requirements, features, and considerations in the selection and use of portable dental equipment in an austere environment.