Dental clinic smiles with new upgrades

Following the ribbon cutting ceremony June 19, 2015 at the Arthur J. Sachsel Dental Clinic at Travis Air Force Base, California, guests were given a tour of the renovated dental clinic, which now has many state-of-the art instruments, such as a relatively quiet dentist's drill. (U.S. Air Force photo by Ken Wright)

Dental clinic smiles with new upgrades

Published July 1, 2015
By Tech. Sgt. Patrick Harrower
60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Leadership from the 60th Dental Squadron cut the ribbon on a newly renovated dental facility June 19 at David Grant USAF Medical Center.

The top-to-bottom $2 million renovation replaced the ceiling, flooring, lights, chairs and cabinetry in each of 40 dental treatment rooms with brand new, state-of-the-art equipment.

"The project consisted of two phases over five months," said Tech. Sgt. Kenya Owens, 60th DS NCO in charge of dental logistics. "Half of the treatment rooms were closed to be worked on and then reopened while the other half was closed. That way, we were able to continue treating patients without affecting the mission."

Even though the rooms were not physically expanded in any way, they now have more available space in them due to modernization. The cabinets are much larger now and incorporate items that traditionally took up floor space , such as trash cans and computers, she said.

"The old equipment was nice, but it looked aged and was from the pre-computerized era of dentistry," said Col. Robin Fontenot, 60th DS commander. "It was difficult to keep clean and didn't meet the current infection control standards."

The new cabinetry allows the integration of the computers into them, saving precious floor space and time when treating patients, he said.

"The rapid advances in technology come quicker and quicker in the medical profession," Fontenot said. "But I am confident to say that we could easily get 12 to 15 years of good use out of this new equipment."