MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. -- This year, the Navy Dental Corps will celebrate 100 years of service to the Navy and Marine Corps.
Since the Dental Corps’ establishment on Aug. 22, 1912, after the 62nd Congress passed an act later signed by President Taft, it has maintained its mission of “providing oral healthcare for war fighters and maintaining operational readiness.”
“It is our job to prevent cavities, promote good oral hygiene and to boost morale by preventing oral complications of those in the armed forces,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Sterling G. Perkins, a hospital corpsman with 13th Dental Company, 1st Dental Battalion, and a McGehee, Ark., native. “We are here to make them look and feel better.”
The Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Dental Clinic provides cleanings, exams, oral surgery and prosthodontics for approximately 9,000 service members and their families aboard the air station.
Each day the clinic services more than 200 patients for everything from cleanings to tooth removal and replacement, explained Petty Officer 3rd Class Sam Saleh, a hospital corpsman with 13th Dental Company, 1st Dental Battalion and a San Francisco native.
More than 10 dentists and approximately 50 dental technicians from the air station will celebrate the centennial during the annual Birthday Ball scheduled to be held near San Diego’s historic waterfront in August.
The event will be hosted by 1st Dental Battalion, based aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and will also include dentists and dental technicians from Naval Medical Center San Diego.
For more information on location, volunteer opportunities or to donate, contact Cmdr. Laura McFarland, the MCB Camp Pendleton Margarita Dental Clinic director with 1st Dental Battalion, at 760-725-3417.