PROPOSED CRITERIA FOR CLASSIFYING POTENTIAL DENTAL EMERGENCIES IN DEPARTMENT-OF-DEFENSE MILITARY PERSONNEL

Dental emergencies have been well documented and evaluated. The result s of dental emergencies have been lost duty time, decreased unit effec tiveness, disruption of routine care, and hindrance to the military mi ssion. The potential of dental emergencies to reduce combat effectiven ess is still a major concern. The current U.S. Army and Department of Defense (DOD) military personnel dental classification system, as regu lated by DOD Instruction 6410.1, places certain patients broadly into the potential emergency, class 3 category. Changes are needed to make this system more effective and predictive. In addition to various acut e conditions, more emphasis should be focused on caries- and surgery-r elated problems to identify the majority of individuals at high risk f or emergencies. Based on an extensive literature review, changes in th e current system of classification are proposed.