Dental support for U.S. Marines in Iraq.

This article describes the experiences of the author while assigned to a dental detachment in Iraq. The mission of the dental detachment was to provide emergency care and, when the situation allowed, essential nonemergency care as far forward as required to reduce the effect of dental disease and degradation of mission. The challenges of deploying a system of dental care presented several logistical problems. This article discusses some of the challenges and offers comments concerning the capture of dental emergency data in the deployed setting.