A Deployed Dentist Recalls His 'One-Chair' Clinic in Afghanistan

Image of Army Lt. Col. (Dr.) Andrew Gutierrez did a tour of duty as a dentist downrange in Afghanistan. Army Lt. Col. (Dr.) Andrew Gutierrez did a tour of duty as a dentist downrange in Afghanistan. (Courtesy of Army Lt. Col. Andrew Gutierrez)

When a dentist is available downrange, word spreads fast.

That's because when you're on deployment for six to 12 months at a time, and something goes wrong with your teeth or mouth, getting to the dentist is a top priority.

"The soldiers knew whether there was a dentist on base. Those who needed something found me," said Army Lt. Col. (Dr.) Andrew Gutierrez.

Gutierrez is one of the military dentists who was in Afghanistan at the height of combat operations and provided care to service members on deployment. In 2011, Gutierrez and one dental technician were stationed at a clinic at Camp Stone in Herat, a city near Afghanistan's western border.

Gutierrez's clinic was a one-chair operation. The chair was similar to what you might see stateside. But the power to run his dental equipment came from a portable field generator. He also had X-ray capabilities and a small dental lab.

"I had pretty much everything I needed to take care of most issues that arose, from repairing fillings or chipped teeth to draining abscesses or extracting teeth," he recalled.

"Most issues were not that serious. But often soldiers found they had a little bit more time to invest in taking care of dental issues," Gutierrez said, "whether that was needing a few fillings or getting a cleaning."

"Good oral health in-theater means not having any diseases or problems that affect a soldier's ability to function, whether that be daily activities such as eating, drinking, speaking, or the ability to accomplish the mission," he said.

"I felt like I was able to educate our soldiers on the importance of oral health while downrange just because I was there with them," he explained.

"I do think maintaining oral health downrange can be difficult. Dental treatment isn't the biggest hurdle, but rather personal habits are," Gutierrez said.

"The stress encountered by soldiers during a deployment can put one's oral health low on the list of priorities."

On deployment, "soldiers are away from family, potentially not getting enough sleep, not having a good routine, and that is why remembering to brush or floss your teeth or eating well can go by the wayside," he said.

Gutierrez joined the military through the Army's Health Professions Scholarship Program. Each service has a similar program for medical and dental students.

He is now the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery assistant program director at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.

You also may be interested in...

Report
Jun 1, 2023

MSMR Vol. 30 No. 6 - June 2023

.PDF | 1.55 MB

This annual issue quantifies the impacts of various illnesses and injuries in 2022 among members of the active component of the U.S. Armed Forces as well as the U.S. Coast Guard; health care burden metrics include the total number of medical encounters, including hospitalizations and ambulatory services, as well as numbers and types of individuals ...

Report
Jan 1, 2023

MSMR Vol. 30 No. 1 - January 2023

.PDF | 1.22 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Incidence and management of chronic insomnia, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2012 to 2021; Changes in the prevalence of overweight and obesity and in the incidence of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes ...

Report
Dec 1, 2022

MSMR Vol. 29 No. 12 - December 2022

.PDF | 2.22 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Surveillance trends for SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory pathogens among U.S. Military Health System Beneficiaries, Sept. 27, 2020 – Oct. 2,2021; Establishment of SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance within the ...

Report
Nov 1, 2022

MSMR Vol. 29 No. 11 - November 2022

.PDF | 1.30 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Surveillance trends for SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory pathogens among U.S. Military Health System Beneficiaries, Sept. 27, 2020 – Oct. 2,2021; Establishment of SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance within the ...

Report
Oct 1, 2022

MSMR Vol. 29 No. 10 - October 2022

.PDF | 1.41 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Surveillance trends for SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory pathogens among U.S. Military Health System Beneficiaries, Sept. 27, 2020 – Oct. 2,2021; Establishment of SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance within the ...

Report
Sep 1, 2022

MSMR Vol. 29 No. 09 - September 2022

.PDF | 2.12 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Surveillance trends for SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory pathogens among U.S. Military Health System Beneficiaries, Sept. 27, 2020 – Oct. 2,2021; Establishment of SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance within the ...

Report
Jul 1, 2022

MSMR Vol. 29 No. 07 - July 2022

.PDF | 1.67 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Surveillance trends for SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory pathogens among U.S. Military Health System Beneficiaries, Sept. 27, 2020 – Oct. 2,2021; Establishment of SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance within the ...

Report
Jun 1, 2022

MSMR Vol. 29 No. 06 - June 2022

.PDF | 3.07 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Absolute and relative morbidity burdens attributable to various illnesses and injuries, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2021; Hospitalizations, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2021; Ambulatory ...

Report
May 1, 2022

MSMR Vol. 29 No. 05 - May 2022

.PDF | 1.25 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Update: Sexually transmitted infections, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2013–2021; Evaluation of ICD-10-CM-based case definitions of ambulatory encounters for COVID-19 among Department of Defense health ...

Report
Apr 1, 2022

MSMR Vol. 29 No. 04 - April 2022

.PDF | 1.51 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Exertional heat illness at Fort Benning, GA: Unique insights from the Army Heat Center; Update: Heat illness, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2021; Update: Exertional rhabdomyolysis, active component, U ...

Report
Mar 1, 2022

MSMR Vol. 29 No. 03 - March 2022

.PDF | 1.52 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Update: Malaria, U.S. Armed Forces, 2021; Obesity prevalence among active component service members prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, January 2018–July 2021; Brief report: Refractive surgery trends ...

Report
Feb 1, 2022

MSMR Vol. 29 No. 02 - February 2022

.PDF | 1.10 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Diagnosis of hepatitis C infection and cascade of care in the active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2020; A new approach to categorization of ocular injury among U.S. Armed Forces; Surveillance snapshot: ...

Report
Jan 1, 2022

MSMR Vol. 29 No. 01 - January 2022

.PDF | 1.23 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Description of a COVID-19 Beta variant outbreak, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA, February–March 2021; COVID-19 and depressive symptoms among active component U.S. service members, January 2019–July 2021; ...

Report
Dec 1, 2021

MSMR Vol. 28 No. 012 - December 2021

.PDF | 1.62 MB

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Update: Osteoarthritis and spondylosis, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2016–2020; Incident COVID-19 infections, active and reserve components, 1 January 2020–31 August 2021; Surveillance snapshot: ...

Skip subpage navigation
Refine your search