HISTORY OF DENTAL SERVICES AT FORT KNOX
Dental services provided to soldiers and other beneficiaries at Fort Knox date back to its beginning. Personal communications and other records indicate no permanently assigned dental officers present for duty until 1938. The dental service was provided as an adjunct to hospital services in the early days. Because of the large and varied patient ba
se, the Dental Corps leadership recognized Fort Knox as an excellent location for graduate programs in dentistry. As a result, the US Army General Dentistry Residency Program was established in 1962, answering the need to provide the Dental Corps with dentists who had been trained in the major specialties of dentistry. Later, the Army recognized the need to provide Dental Corps leaders the opportunity to lead this separate product line of health care in a more formalized manner. Along with many other posts, the U.S. Army Dental Activity (DENTAC) was established as a separate command at Fort Knox on 24 March 1978, thereby granting the authority for providing dental services commensurate with the already existing responsibility. Already proven as a superb location for graduate dental education, the Dental Corps decided to establish the first U.S. Army Advanced Educational Program in Orthodontics in 1985. This program trained orthodontists for the Army, along with some Navy officers, for eight years until its closure in June 1994. Some of these orthodontists were able to earn a Master’s Degree via training in conjunction with the University of Louisville School of Dentistry. In October 1986, this DENTAC became the first to begin providing dental services through the use of contract dentists at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. The use of contract professional services in the Fort Knox DENTAC continues today. Downsizing of the Army and Fort Knox in the 1990s forced the DENTAC to manage significant change. Most notably, both graduate dental programs closed; the General Dentistry Residency as of 1995. Additionally, personnel downsizing forced a number of physical plant changes. Craven, Nelson, and Margetis turned their keys over to different organizations. Fort Benjamin Harrison Dental Clinic closed its doors in October 1995. As a result of the Army Medical Department reorganization in 1994, Fort Knox DENTAC gained regional and other responsibilities, reporting directly to the Northern Regional Dental Command located at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. It became responsible for the mobilization mission of Fort McCoy, Wisconsin and Camp Atterbury, Indiana and oversaw a clinic at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Mount Clemons, Michigan. Selfridge Air National Guard Base later closed due to decreasing mission requirements. Due to the Base Realignment and Closure Act, the Fort Knox DENTAC continued to transform from 2009-2011. As Basic Training and the Armor Center and School left the installation, Fort Knox gained a Brigade Combat Team and the Human Resources Center of Excellence. Margetis and Thomas Dental Clinic closed, while Jordan Dental Clinic was renovated to a new, state of the art facility. As the mobilization and demobilization mission across the Army decreased, the dental mission at Fort McCoy, WI closed down operations in 2011. Fort Knox Garrison built a new Soldier Readiness Processing Site that includes six dental exam rooms and six dental x-ray stations, which greatly enhanced the DENTAC’s ability to deploy and redeploy Soldiers in support of Overseas Contingency Operations. Numerous changes have transformed the Fort Knox DENTAC into a streamlined, efficient, yet customer-focused dental care delivery organization, postured to meet the oral health needs of America’s Army of the 21st Century. Current high states of dental readiness of supported units reflect DENTAC’s commitment to excellence.
