Expert: Rod Powers - 5/4/2007

Question
My son called from boot camp on his third day.  The base Dentist declared him medically unfit because he has a "transitional" dental bridge (he lost his front teeth in a childhood accident).  Our family dentist has slowly been fixing his teeth over the years as he matured.  The base examiner said he would need his permanent porcelain bridge before he could serve.  He is also requiring the roots to be surgically removed.  My question is actually three part...1.  The permanent bridge can be put in back home within a few days (at a very high expense) but our family Dentist vehemently disagrees with the root removal.  He says it would cause unnecessary long term damage.  If the military examiner and my Dentist talk about the case, is he likely to agree with my Dentist? 2. If we proceed with the procedure to the Guard's approval, is there any chance of him not getting a return invite?  3. Finally, why was this issue not addressed at our local MEPS?  My son could have taken care of this in advance and saved himself a tremendous amount of trouble and at the same time saved the Coast Guard the cost of flying him up there twice.  Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Russ,

I can't speak as to what is going to happen. That depends on several factors, including what the militay dentists diagnose.

However, I can tell you for a fact, that during your son's visit to MEPS, he would have had to have filled out a medical questionaire, that would have asked him if he had such previous problems, and/or any on-going dental treatment. I don't know what he answered on these medical screening forms.

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com