New dental laboratory

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Chad Warren
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  The 2nd Dental Squadron laboratory was recently upgraded and moved into a larger area within the squadron. 

According to Senior Airman Heather Nowak, 2 DS laboratory technician, the new three-room facility gives lab technicians sufficient space to complete the high volume of work required to support the dental mission here. The previous facility was small and did not give the technicians adequate room for all of them to work simultaneously, .

"There is more shelving and storage space, and a lot more counter space to work," she said.

The dental lab receives molds of a patient's teeth and uses these to construct unique prosthetics and other items based on a patient's needs. Some of the equipment used by the Airmen takes up a significant amount of space, and the new, state-of-the-art lab gives the skilled technicians the extra space needed to create these highly specialized products to the highest possible quality.

Though manning is low right now, the new facility also allows room for future increase in personnel.

"We only have three dental technicians right now," said Master Sgt. Denny Shaffer, 2 DS laboratory flight chief. "When I first arrived we had six, and we hope to get back to that in the near future."

The new lab has eight fully equipped individual workstations; six for technicians and two for doctors to come in and utilize. There are also separate rooms for doing work that may require isolation from the other areas.

Working with porcelain is one job that requires isolation, said Nowak. Some work, such as grinding molds, creates stone dust. When stacking porcelain crowns, it's important to have the air as clear as possible so no foreign debris can settle on the porcelain and cause imperfections.

The dental clinic services all of Barksdale's Airmen, making sure their teeth and gums are in good shape and keeping them mission-ready. The lab is a vital part of this mission, and the new facility is one way the clinic is staying on the leading edge of serving our Airmen.