As Soldiers focus on their medical readiness, it’s important to remember this includes dental readiness. Many Soldiers do not realize how their dental health impacts their overall readiness for duty until it’s too late.
At present, about one in ten Soldiers is medically non-deployable because of an overdue dental exam or missed dental treatment. That’s roughly 22,000 Soldiers who are deficient in their annual dental exams or have neglected dental care that was identified and recommended in a previous dental exam.
Soldiers are required to have an annual Periodic Health Assessment (PHA) that provides not only a comprehensive medical review, but also a dental review. However, if Soldiers miss their PHA event or at least the dental portion, they rarely attempt to get their dental exam that year through other means.
As a Soldier, when you miss or skip your annual dental exam, and/or follow-up dental treatment and care, you risk becoming non-deployable and unable to support your unit’s mission. You also risk loss of pay for drill attendance. Moreover, by not getting regular checkups, you jeopardize your oral health – potentially missing warning signs of dental problems that could lead to more serious dental issues like periodontitis, a severe form of gum disease.
According to the Mayo Clinic, research suggests that periodontists is associated with an increased risk of developing heart disease. This same research also suggests that people with chronic gum disease have increased thickness of the blood vessels in the neck, which could be a sign of cardiovascular disease. Also evidenced in the Mayo Clinic research is a strong correlation between cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as evidence that people with diabetes benefit from professional teeth cleanings.
Like Soldiers operating in support of one another in an Army unit, your body is a single unit that requires all of its parts effectively performing their specified roles in order for the body to achieve optimal performance. Neglecting one part of the body is essentially neglecting the entire body. Failure in one part, left unchecked, will eventually lead to failure of the entire unit.
So why should Soldiers guard their smiles?
- Getting an annual dental exam and related treatment not only makes you compliant with Army National Guard regulations, but also keeps you fit for duty.
- Dental exams help prevent oral disease and emergency dental work (which can cost money out of your wallet and affect your dental readiness classification).
- Healthy gums may help to prevent other possibly related health problems such as heart disease and cardiovascular disease.
If you miss your PHA event at your designated military installation, you can schedule an appointment with a military or civilian dentist on your own time. When visiting a civilian dentist, a form DD 2813 should be completed by the dental office for submission to your unit. The form can be downloaded at www.GYH.Tips/DD2813 or you can request a form through your chain of command.
To help Soldiers improve their oral fitness, the National Guard Bureau has launched the Guard Your Smile initiative through its Guard Your Health campaign. Soldiers can learn more about dental readiness, affordable dental care and other dental health topics at http://GYH.Tips/DentalHealth.
By STAFF WRITER Ruth Ann Replogle
