The corner of Kansas Avenue and Utah Street will soon be home to a new dental facility as Fort Leonard Wood officials broke ground Aug. 29 allowing construction to begin.
The new $10.6 million, 18,600-square-foot facility is expected to take 18-months to complete and will support more than 20,000 Soldiers annually from Advanced Individual Training and One Station Unit Training.
With having 30 dental chairs this clinic will be able to support 210 dental visits per day.
"It's exciting as we usher in the new dental facility to benefit our Soldiers. This is the groundbreaking ceremony for 30 chairs, not five, not ten, but 30-dental-chairs. That's a throughput that's pretty high," said Col. William Pfeffer, Garrison commander.
"This clinic will ensure that we have the best capabilities and capacity to treat and ensure the dental health and readiness of our Soldiers," he added.
Pfeffer said everyone should be thankful that all of this military construction is taking place on the fort and not at some other installation.
"It (construction) demonstrates our nations' commitment to a ready-and-resilient Army and indicates a substantial investment in our service members, and especially in Fort Leonard Wood," Pfeffer said.
Col. David Kryszak, Dental Activity commander said that the location couldn't be better.
"It's going to be perfect for the Soldiers because of the location next to the starships (barracks) and the T-Bub barracks. Whereas now they've got a bus to roll or truck, they'll be within walking distance," Kryszak said.
He said the new clinic ties into the first term dental readiness plan where the goal is for 95 percent or better of the Soldiers to graduate AIT or OSUT "dental ready-to-go," to their next duty assignment.
"It's a big plus for Fort Leonard Wood, and it's a big plus for the dental readiness of the new Soldiers," Kryszak said.
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