8th OMRS Dental Flight: Ensuring readiness and dental care within the Wolf Pack

Story by Senior Airman Maria Umanzor Guzman

8th Fighter Wing

KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea– The 8th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron Dental Flight remains devoted to safeguarding the dental health of every Airmen, ensuring their optimal performance in daily operations.

The dental flight sustains the appropriate dental care for all Airmen across the base by providing preventative and restorative dentistry.

“Our dental clinic has several key areas,” said Tech. Sgt. Quentin Blash, 8th OMRS noncommissioned officer in charge of the dental clinic. “We have a reception area that holds all dental records and checks-in patients, a central instrument process center for cleaning and sterilizing tools, and a dental lab for same-day crowns. We also manage 1.2K critical line items in our logistics area and have an advanced treatment area for surgeries.”

Blash said that in order to keep track of every Airman’s dental care status, the dental flight works with each squadron’s respective health monitor, command support staff, and first sergeant to schedule their dental needs and treatments in a timely manner.

“During each member’s annual exam, we provide proper nutrition and health counseling to ensure [personnel] take care of their dental hygiene,” said Blash. “ We also provide hard night guards, sport guards, and floss if needed, when you come in for an exam.”

According to Blash, the dental clinic sees approximately 450 patients per month.

Each section of the dental clinic is crucial to patient care, beginning with using the proper equipment.

“As an infection control lead, we sterilize all instruments that come in from different clinics for procedures,” said Senior Airman James Marc Tychingco, 8th OMRS infection control lead. “Another key focus is properly wearing personal protective equipment to prevent people from getting sick. Being able to follow the instructions for the use of equipment is an essential part of continuing our daily operations to maintain the readiness of base personnel.”

With the 8th OMRS dental flight’s unwavering commitment to prioritizing dental care, the Wolf Pack remains well-equipped to maintain its daily operations and achieve its mission objectives.