HEIDELBERG, Germany--Twenty years ago, Sgt. Maj. Exerline Drumm's driving experience was limited to squeezing her car into a cramped parking space at the grocery store in Heidelberg.
Drumm, the U.S. Army Dental Command's sergeant major, was a little surprised when ordered by then-Col. John J. Cuddy to drive a bus - a Mobile Dental Clinic, to be exact.
Cuddy was later chief of the U.S. Army Dental Corps from 1994-1998.
Cuddy's idea to provide dental treatment to Department of Defense employees and their families stationed in remote areas or places without significant care available took shape in 1987.
In 1990, two Mercedes-Benz buses were purchased for DM 250,000 each and transformed into mobile dental clinics.
"A doctor was in charge of each bus, which included an X-ray and two chairs for routine care like cleanings and cavity filling. When we received a request from places that didn't have clinics, we drove the bus there," said Rick DuVall, Heidelberg Dental Activity executive officer.
At the height of usage during the late 1990s and early 2000s, the mobile dental clinic traveled throughout Europe to Austria, Spain, Belgium, France and the Netherlands.
On May 2, the buses were decommissioned and will return shortly to the motor pool because they are too expensive to maintain and are no longer requested on a regular basis. The last assignment
was to Rotterdam in the Netherlands in April 2010, DuVall said.
"In 1983, there were 87 dental clinics throughout Europe and in 2003 there were 36 clinics, not including the two mobile dental clinics. Today, there are 22.
The main reason for this change is due to the downsizing of Europe after the Cold War," said DuVall.
With a few more clinics on the chopping block within the next couple of years, the dental clinic, like so many other units, has changed its mission for the times. The unique experience is not
something Drumm is unaware of.
"Being able to travel to all these places and visit so many cultures is an experience I'll never forget," said Drumm.
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