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Health Readiness & Combat Support | Total Force Fitness | TRICARE Dental Care

Army Brig. Gen. Shan K. Bagby, chief of the Army Dental Corps and commanding general of Army Regional Health Command-Central, spoke with the MHS Communications team to debate the importance of dental health for service members’ readiness, the impact of COVID-19 on his team, the importance of diversity within the military, and his recent visit to the 2022 Army Best Medic Competition.

MHS Communications: You lately attended this yr’s Army Best Medic Competition (ABMC). How does any such event prepare soldiers for Army medicine?

Army Brig. Gen. Shan Bagby: The ABMC challenges the Army’s best medical personnel in a demanding, continuous, and realistic simulated operational environment that requires competitors to be agile and adaptive, just as they’d need to be in a real-world tactical environment. It’s designed to be each physically and mentally difficult in addition to testing the competitors’ tactical medical proficiency and leadership skills. This event shows the strength and flexibility of Army Medicine to support the Army and the Joint Force.

MHS Communications: Particularly throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, why is that this competition so relevant for medical soldier teams and their training?

Brig. Gen. Bagby: COVID-19 has not stopped the Army’s mission, soldiers world wide should be able to fight tonight. Our medical soldiers must not only be medically ready but in addition be ready medical soldiers. Preparing for training and competing in any such event further prepares our soldiers to be just that – ready at a moment’s notice to support the warfighter each here and abroad. Army medics allow warfighters to do their jobs knowing they’re in good hands if wounded and keeping our fighting force mission ready.

MHS Communications: Why is physical fitness such a vital aspect of this competition and Army medicine?

Brig. Gen. Bagby: Physical fitness is vital for any soldier. Being physically fit provides strength, stamina, and survivability for our soldiers to satisfy the Army mission to deploy, fight, and win our nation’s wars by providing ready, prompt, and sustained land dominance by Army forces across the complete spectrum of conflict as a part of the Joint Force.

MHS Communications: Black health and wellness is that this yr’s theme for Black History Month. What is the importance of accelerating diversity within the dental corps?

Brig. Gen. Bagby: Having a various workforce is critical to the success of Army Medicine and our Army. Creating an environment where everyone seems to be welcome ensures we will proceed to recruit, train, and retain the most effective. Our organizations, like our society, are best served once we create an environment where people can contribute in a way that allows collective success.

MHS Communications: MHS Communications is highlighting Dental Health Month throughout February. As a dentist and repair member, are you able to talk concerning the importance of dental health in overall military medicine?

Brig. Gen. Bagby: Military dental officers are highly trained health care professionals that provide dental care to soldiers in garrison and much forward on the battlefield. Military dentistry is integral to military medicine. Oral health is key to the general readiness and health of the fighting force. For instance, published reports reveal a big selection of dental emergency rates in military personnel from 111 to 437 per 1,000 personnel per yr. Dental emergencies impact readiness and reduce combat power, each in training and in deployed environments. Studies have shown that soldiers have a greater than 75% likelihood of experiencing a dental emergency inside one yr in the event that they are classified as dentally unready; 19% likelihood of experiencing a dental emergency inside one yr in the event that they are dentally ready and have minor oral disease, but lower than 1% likelihood of experiencing a dental emergency inside one yr in the event that they are dentally able to deploy.

MHS Communications: Are you able to provide a number of the key suggestions or themes related to dental health you wished all soldiers knew or kept in mind?

Brig. Gen. Bagby: Absolutely. Soldiers should know:

• Dental cavities, or tooth decay, is a preventable disease.
• Diet and oral habits like tobacco are influencers of oral health.
• Tooth decay occurs when the outer layer of the tooth, which is named the enamel, is eroded by acid produced by bacteria.
• Tooth decay could be very prevalent in military aged young adults (those 20 years of age or under) and might impact mission readiness.
• Tobacco usage (smoking, dipping) and consumption of sodas and high-caloric beverages may be devastating to oral health and forestall a soldier from being mission capable and deployable.
• If consuming sugary drinks, use a straw to limit contact with the teeth.
• Brush a minimum of once a day, but optimally twice a day. If unable to brush your teeth with a toothbrush, be sure that you rinse and wipe all tooth surfaces with a cloth.
• Drink fluoridated water and calcium-fortified beverages to assist strengthen teeth.

MHS Communications: In your perspective, how do you think that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the medical community basically and/or the dental community specifically?

Brig. Gen. Bagby: COVID-19 had a huge effect on the medical and dental community. From the way in which we see patients to the way in which we protect ourselves against the illness, all of us have needed to make changes to how we do business. Generally speaking, we now have increased using virtual health capabilities, made modifications to many services comparable to drive-up pharmacies and testing centers. We have ensured any essential adjustments to clinical areas were made to accommodate physical distancing in addition to many other things.

Most significantly, nonetheless, are our people. The providers and support staff have put in countless hours at testing centers and inside our military [hospitals and clinics] caring for the a whole bunch of 1000’s of beneficiaries who depend on us day-after-day for his or her care. Our soldiers have deployed into a number of the hardest hit areas providing support to civilian hospitals and cities fighting COVID-19. After which, we’re also fighting COVID-19 inside our ranks, just as everyone else world wide.

The lads and ladies who make up Regional Health Command-Central and Army Medicine are a dedicated, compassionate, skilled, and resilient team of individuals. Each and day-after-day, they walk into work able to handle their patients and one another. So, while COVID-19 may create a change to how we do things, we’ll remain ready at a moment’s notice to tackle the subsequent mission that involves us.