Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
CQ Weekly
February 25, 2008
Pg. 341
By Patrick Yoest, CQ Staff
Concern about the unmet medical needs of men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan has spawned the creation of presidential and congressional commissions and opened the floodgates of annual appropriations. But until recent weeks, there was almost no talk in Washington about the teeth of the troops.
At issue is the poor oral health of reservists — many of whom had no dental coverage before they were called to active duty. The spate of cavities and gingivitis is so bad that the Army has formed a dental readiness working group. It will be headed by the Army’s assistant surgeon general for force projection — as soon as that job gets filled.
Soldiers and Marines often come home from the war with teeth in much worse shape than when they left. “Dental care deteriorates in the theater just because of the hygiene, the Coca-Cola and everything else,” said Veterans Affairs Secretary James B. Peake, who was previously the Army’s surgeon general.
But who should pay to fill the cavities and restore the gums? Indiana’s Steve Buyer, the top Republican on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, says the Army should — or at least it should be paying for the dental care it has foisted off on the VA. “We’re going down and we’re going to flip the beds over here on the Army Dental Corps,” he rumbled at a hearing this month.
A spokesman, Lt. Col. George Wright, says it’s impossible for Army dentists to handle all the work between when troops come home and when they are discharged — and their teeth become the VA’s problem. But, he said, the Army “has not initiated any practices intended to shift costs to the Department of Veterans Affairs.”
The issue appears destined for further congressional prodding. “We’ll just send them a bill,” Buyer says about the Army.
February 25, 2008
Pg. 341
By Patrick Yoest, CQ Staff
Concern about the unmet medical needs of men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan has spawned the creation of presidential and congressional commissions and opened the floodgates of annual appropriations. But until recent weeks, there was almost no talk in Washington about the teeth of the troops.
At issue is the poor oral health of reservists — many of whom had no dental coverage before they were called to active duty. The spate of cavities and gingivitis is so bad that the Army has formed a dental readiness working group. It will be headed by the Army’s assistant surgeon general for force projection — as soon as that job gets filled.
Soldiers and Marines often come home from the war with teeth in much worse shape than when they left. “Dental care deteriorates in the theater just because of the hygiene, the Coca-Cola and everything else,” said Veterans Affairs Secretary James B. Peake, who was previously the Army’s surgeon general.
But who should pay to fill the cavities and restore the gums? Indiana’s Steve Buyer, the top Republican on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, says the Army should — or at least it should be paying for the dental care it has foisted off on the VA. “We’re going down and we’re going to flip the beds over here on the Army Dental Corps,” he rumbled at a hearing this month.
A spokesman, Lt. Col. George Wright, says it’s impossible for Army dentists to handle all the work between when troops come home and when they are discharged — and their teeth become the VA’s problem. But, he said, the Army “has not initiated any practices intended to shift costs to the Department of Veterans Affairs.”
The issue appears destined for further congressional prodding. “We’ll just send them a bill,” Buyer says about the Army.