USAMTEAC Tests New Field Portable Dental Furnace at Joint Base Lewis-McChord

Courtesy Story

U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA – The U.S. Army Medical Test and Evaluation Activity (USAMTEAC) carried out an operational test of a new version of the Field Portable Dental Furnace (FPDF) at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA, from September 21 to 23, 2024. The FPDF is a small, simple-to-use, durable, portable furnace that uses heat and vacuum pressure to harden, color, and glaze dental restorations such as crowns, bridges, and inlays. It allows the dentist or technician to fabricate, finish, and repair dental prosthetics from ceramics.

The test was a team effort with the U.S. Army Medical Material Development Activity (USAMMDA) Medical Field Systems (MFS) Product Manager. It coincided with a week-long field training exercise for the 673d Dental Company (Area Support) (DCAS). The 673d DCAS cleared a meadow behind McClung Dental Clinic and set up a two-tent, ten-chair field dental clinic that provided several dozen exams, cleanings, and restorations to McClung Dental Clinic patients. The field dental clinic also included a sterilization/supply tent and a dental laboratory tent that hosted USAMTEAC during the FPDF test, all running off the unit’s generators to create an authentic experience of operational dentistry in a field environment. Col. Mark Church, commander of the 673d DCAS, said, “Helping to modernize the way we provide dental care in the field is one of the most impactful things we can do as a unit, from a long-term perspective. We were excited to have the opportunity to work with [USAMTEAC] and USAMMDA on this project.”

The 673d’s Biomedical Equipment Specialist navigated learning and the FPDF as the test’s maintainer while balancing their duties to keep the DCAS mechanically operational during their field training exercise. The 673d’s prosthodontist, three dental laboratory technicians, and a dental laboratory technician from the JBLM Dental Health Activity used the FPDF to perform some standard dental laboratory procedures that would arise in operational dentistry. For example, suppose a crown needs to be replaced. In that case, a dentist may have a dental laboratory fabricate a new crown from a ceramic material. The crown may need to be colored or reshaped, depending on the patient’s needs. The dentist or dental lab technician can add stains, glaze, or more ceramic to the crown to improve the color or shape. The crown is then fired to set or harden those alterations in a furnace.

The MTEAC test team collected valuable data on the performance of the FPDF while the test players performed several of these procedures using common crown materials. Sgt. 1st Class Cesar Sanchez, a MTEAC Data Collector, said, “I’m impressed by the knowledge and enthusiasm demonstrated by these test players as they utilize the latest field-portable dental furnace. It instills confidence to know that the U.S. Army can deliver dental services across all operational areas, including contingency zones.”

Maj. Andrew Klish, chief dental officer of the 673d DCAS and the unit’s liaison for the test event, said, “We know that getting the equipment that will best accomplish our mission requires participation from us ‘end-users’ in the research phase, and we enjoyed filling that role for the FPDF. We learned a lot about the process and look forward to participating in more of these in the future.”

After the test, MTEAC will compile a detailed report for USAMMDA. This report will help decide if this new FPDF will replace the older model currently in use.

Aligned under the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence, USAMTEAC is the only independent operational test and evaluation agency of medical and medical-related materiel and information technology products, supporting of the Army and DOD acquisition process. To learn more about the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Activity and their mission visit https://medcoe.army.mil/usamteac.