Liberty Wings Dental Lab aids in readiness of military personnel, families at RAFL

Story by Airman 1st Class Alexander Vasquez

48th Fighter Wing

ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England. — The 48th Dental Squadron Dental Laboratory holds a plethora of responsibilities at the Liberty Wing and one of their main priorities is conducting the construction of mouth prostheses to ensure the oral health of Airmen and their families at RAF Lakenheath.

The dental lab has several responsibilities to ensure that prostheses are carefully crafted. These prostheses range from mouth to facial reconstruction prosthetics.

“A big focus here in the dental lab is on mission readiness,” said Lt. Col. Hannah Colburn, 48th DS laboratory flight commander. “The only way we’re going to get there is by finding more efficient ways to work and with our equipment, it ensures we can do that.”

The lab utilizes multiple automated machines to ensure that prosthesis construction is precise and produced quickly. The lab is currently working with machines that focus on 3D printing, 3D scanning, crown carving, and more. The machines benefit the lab’s turnaround time by simultaneously creating accurate prostheses while the Airmen manually construct others.

The dental lab is an important cornerstone of the 48th Fighter Wing and United States Air Force priorities by maintaining deployment readiness at all times. Due to the accelerated production of oral prostheses, the lab can ensure that dental technicians are prepared to help those deploying at any moment.

The lab not only constructs oral prostheses, but facial reconstruction prosthetics as well. Machines are utilized by the lab to create facial prosthetics using materials such as silicone, acrylic, gypsum, and more. The practice of creating prosthetics not only gives the lab technicians more experience, but proves beneficial to the 48th Medical Group during casualty responsive care training, where they can have realistic models to perform their practices on.

Not only do we provide realistic models for training for the 48th MDG, but our oral and facial prostheses can restore lost functions such as eating, speaking, and breathing, said Master Sgt. Bethany Watson, 48th DS laboratory flight chief.

The lab offers a unique program where they mold imprints of infants deceased at birth, giving the families something to cherish. This program is offered in hopes of gifting a respectful and honoring remembrance gift from the Liberty Wing.

The dental lab continues to prove their significance on base by constructing oral assets such as crowns, retainers, and more. As the dental lab looks to uphold the highest standards of excellence, their efforts maintain a high significance to the mission success of the Liberty Wing, ensuring health, hygiene, and safety are held to the highest standard at all times, and mission readiness is maintained in United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa.