Effect of the Army Oral Health Maintenance Program (AOHMP) on the Dental Health Status of Army Personnel. AOHMP Evaluation Study. Part 3. Dental Care Requirements of Active Duty Army Personnel, 1978

Abstract : The Army Oral Health Maintenance Program is an official Department of the Army program which is designed to determine the oral and dental health care needs of Army personnel and to provide those care needs. The purpose of this phase of the study was to determine the dental care requirements of active duty Army personnel by rank group (E1-4, E5-6, E7-9, W1-4, 01-3, 04-6), by basic branch/career management field (combat or combat support/combat service support, and by installation. Personnel were evaluated at ten Army installations, using the requirement for an annual dental examination as the impetus for bringing personnel to the dental clinic for the exam. In a period of one month, about 6000 persons reporting for their dental exam were evaluated and treatment plans were formulated which would satisfy the care needs of those persons. In addition, numbers and types of dental treatments needed have been converted to hours required to perform the care. Sample distributions were determined for nine treatment categories; 97.2 percent of the sample required some form of dental care, preventive or corrective. The results of this study will be useful to compare with results of an earlier study in the same area and also to compare with results of future studies to be conducted. The results of this study will also aid planners in determining resource requirements based upon need rather than numbers of personnel and in determining future specialty training requirements.