Face Of Defense: Dentist Plays Vital Role In Afghanistan

USA—In a remote valley of war-torn Afghanistan, an airman home-based there is playing a vital role enhancing the country’s practice of dentistry.

Air Force Maj. (Dr) Courtney Schapira is deployed to the medical embedded training team at Forward Operating Base Lightning as the chief dental advisor at Paktia Regional Military Hospital in Gardez, Afghanistan.

“Our team is made up of 21 medical advisors from different NATO countries,” Schapira said. “ We each have our own areas of expertise, such as internal medicine, nursing, pharmacy, etc.”

Schapira deployed to Afghanistan in November and is the first and only dental advisor assigned there.

Paktia Regional Military Hospital is an Afghan army facility that treats only Afghan soldiers, police and civilians with combat-related injuries. “The standard of dental care in Afghanistan is much different from that in the United States,” Schapira said, noting the clinic is not current with modern preventive dentistry.

“Though the Afghan dentists are skilled and adequate at their profession,” Schapira said, “their techniques and materials and the thought processes behind their treatments are outdated.” [Source]