Dentist

S

singaporemom

10-Year Member
5-Year Member
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Okay, another newbie parent question.
Son has a scheduled dental cleaning with hometown dentist during Christmas break.... should I cancel? Does USNA get the kids in for cleanings during the school year?

With Army/Navy week coming up and finals...I doubt I'll get much time to chit chat with plebe son.
 
As a general rule, your son is now in the military and the military should take care of all of his medical and dental needs. In fairness, based on my memory, it was up to the mid to set up routine appointments -- the military medical/dental system doesn't send out little "reminder cards" like your civilian MDs/DDSs do -- well, maybe they do now, but didn't in my day.:smile:

I'll defer to a current mid/parent on this one, but I find it hard to believe that your son can't get his teeth cleaned through the military. I know that parents tend to view military medicine with cynicism (mine did and they were military retirees), but there can be problems with getting medical/dental care at civilian facilities other than in emergency situations. It is a practice that I would discourage.

The above said, I'm basing this on the way things were in my day, which -- granted -- was quite a few years ago. It may well be possible that things have changed, in which case, I'm sure someone here will correct me. :biggrin:
 
I don't know the exact logistics at the USNA Branch Dental clinic; however, all active duty members are entitled to 3 things every year from Dental: 1) An annual "T-2" Exam - simply the yearly dental exam and 2) 2 dental cleanings per year.

Further dental work is as needed on an acute basis or if something is found during the T-2 exam.

I would not recommend having your mid get care done on the outside.
 
If you don't mind paying for it or he is covered under your dental insurance then keep the appointment. This is not a big deal at all and will be one less thing he has to worry about at the academy.
JMHO.
 
Tend to agree with JAM..... Midn's mom continues to make appt.s for him to get a dental cleaning during his summer leave block as well as an annual eye/vision check-up with our optometrist......it may not be necessary since it's probably redundant but she insists :hammer: so it happens !

GO NAVY Beat ARMY
 
Hi,

Same here. Took care of daughter's routine dental exam while she was home on summer leave. Paid out of pocket but still less than tuition.

GoNavyMom
 
Mids have priority at USNA Dental Clinic, which is in Bancroft Hall. Appointments or walk-ins for cleanings are easily accomplished.:biggrin:
 
We've been advised not to get dental care at home.
Now getting our Yearling to 'find time' to make the appointment was another story.
Had to take drastic action but it worked. :shake:
 
Just my personal opinion here but, if I were a mid, I'm not sure I'd enjoy spending some of my precious leave time visiting the dentist. Just saying . . . . :rolleyes:

If you're a parent, ask your mid why he/she hasn't taken care of a routine cleaning while at USNA, when -- based on the posts above -- there is ample opportunity. No one is THAT busy, trust me.

The thing to keep in mind here is that, in a few short years, your mid will be on his or her own at some military base somewhere in the world. He/she won't have you to make appointments and won't be in town every holiday to run to your dentist or doctor. At some point, he/she needs to start taking care of routine/preventative medical/dental matters on his/her own at a military facility provided for that purpose. Now is a great time to start reinforcing that.
 
It sounds like the best course of action in regards to his 6 month cleaning is to cancel his appointment with home dentist and have him attempt to make an appointment for January. Thank you.

The main reason for inquiry arose when that little post card came in the mail! He had his cleaning right after graduation and I never thought about it again.

I'm sure the last thing on his mind right now is cleaning his teeth! :smile:
 
My Mid has his cleaning appt @ USNA canceled repeatedly. I made an appt for him w/ our home dentist over Thanksgiving, and sure enough, he finally got in w/ a USNA hygienist right before he came home. So the right thing to do is get dental care via USNA, but ...
 
..we'll cancel home dentist and give USNA dental system a try..... for now :smile:
 
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