Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Tempel Jr., Regional Health Command -- Central (Provisional) commanding general and Army Dental Corps chief, accepted the New York University College of Dentistry's 2016 David B. Kriser medallion on behalf of the U.S. Army Dental Corps during the university's spring commencement ceremony recently.
The Kriser Medal was presented to Tempel for the Corps' Go First Class program. Go First Class highlights the importance of dental health and ensures all Soldiers' receive quality and efficient dental care that contributes to overall health.
The program changed how Soldiers receive their dental care by reducing the number of visits needed to receive routine care and minor restorative work. Before Go First Class, Soldiers made separate appointments for exams, cleanings and minor dental procedures. Now, all this can be done in one scheduled visit.
While Tempel acknowledged this is not a unique system, it is "the first step to an integration of our dental and medical services," he said "We are changing our practices to ensure we are looking at the health and wellness of the whole Soldier."
The initiative is based on the three pillars of prevention, readiness and wellness. Each of the pillars is integral to the Army Medicine campaign and helps transition oral care from a health care system to a system of health.
Within the pillar of prevention, Soldiers receive not just an exam but other benefits such as their cleanings, oral hygiene guidance, tooth varnish, fluoride treatments, tobacco counseling and oral cancer screenings. These services assist in improving a Soldier's health and can reduce future care requirements.
Go First Class helps promote readiness by maintaining a Soldier's deployable status. The single visit concept of the program ensures most Soldiers are dentally deployable after that one visit. The goal of the program is to ensure 95 percent of active duty Soldiers are dentally deployable. In order to be dentally deployable, Soldiers cannot have any major dental care needs.
The third pillar -- wellness, is the ultimate goal. Once Soldiers no longer need dental treatment beyond routine exams and cleanings, they are less likely to return to a non-deployable status. This also means they will be spending less time in the clinic and enjoying an enhanced quality of life.
Tempel attributed the Go First Class success to the entire dental team.
"The program would not be as successful and transformative as it is today without the dentists, hygienists and dental staff," he said.
The Kriser Medallion is the highest honor awarded by New York University College of Dentistry. It is named for the late David B. Kriser, a major benefactor of NYU College of Dentistry and of many other healthcare institutions in New York City and a former life trustee of NYU.
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