COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The Dental Flight with the 14th Medical Operations Squadron at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi offers a variety of services from cleanings to preventative services to wisdom teeth removal.
“What I do primarily is preventative cleanings,” said Staff Sgt. Nathaniel Farinas, 14th MDOS Dental Technician. “I give education on prevention, show patients how to brush properly, how to and how many times a day to floss and recommendations on toothpaste and rinsing aids.”
Enlisted and officers both serve very important roles in a dental clinic.
“On the operative side, the doctors do fillings, crowns, implants and more,” Farinas said. “While the dental technicians assist the doctors by preparing instruments and rooms for use with the next patient.”
There are many advantages for Airmen to use the provided on-base dental clinic rather than a downtown service.
“The great thing about having a dental clinic on base is it is absolutely free,” Farinas said. “As opposed to a commercial dentist, here we take care of what is needed while not doing extra operations. Our purpose is to keep people healthy.”
With the amount of new student and instructor pilots that come through Columbus AFB, the clinic stays busy ensuring Airmen stay mission ready.
“It is important we have this clinic on base so we can serve our active duty members,” said Maj. Hanling Joswick, 14th MDOS Chief of Dental Services. “Without us, we could not ensure all of our students in pilot training were fit to fly and accomplish the mission.”
As everyone on base must visit the dental office at least once, this gives everyone an opportunity to see the capability of the dental flight.
“We see primarily active duty members, but we can also serve Guard and Reserve members on active orders,” Joswick. “We can provide for dependents and retirees on an emergency basis as well.”
For more information on the dental flight and its services or to make an appointment, call 434-2250.
“We have an exceptional staff here with my dental flight,” Joswick said. “My staff is very capable and knowledgeable and I would rather be nowhere else on Columbus AFB.”