Nebraska Active Duty Military: Nebraska is home to almost 8,000 active duty Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard personnel.¹ There are also over 9,500 Reserve and National Guard personnel.¹ In 2008, the Department of Defense conducted a nationwide Oral Health Study of over 5,000 Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps recruits.² As part of their medical evaluation, each recruit undergoes a dental examination to determine their dental readiness classification. Service members who do not require urgent care now or in the next 12 months are considered worldwide deployable. Those members who require urgent or emergency treatment are considered non-deployable. The results of the 2008 DoD Recruit Oral Health Survey showed that over half (52.4%) of these young adult recruits had unmet dental needs that classified them as non-deployable, demonstrating the fact that oral health can even affect our military capabilities.² The majority of our Nebraska Military members receive their dental readiness examinations and routine care at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha and the Army/Air National Guard facilitates in Lincoln.

Nebraska Military Veterans: There are approximately 5,500 Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)/ Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Veterans in the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System who have recently returned from overseas.³ In addition, there are estimated to be over 140,000 Veterans of all ages living in Nebraska.¹ Dental benefits are more limited than medical benefits through the Veterans Administration and patients must go through an eligibility determination process. If they are not eligible, then they can receive assistance to be enrolled in the VA Dental Insurance program at a reduced cost. In 2013, over 17,000 dental visits were provided at three dental facilities located in Grand Island, Lincoln and Omaha.⁴ These clinics, staffed by four full time and 12 part time dentists produced over $8 million worth of care to their patients.⁴ The VA also sponsors advanced dental student residency training positions through the UNMC College of Dentistry. If eligible Veterans live more than 40 miles from a VA facility, they can get covered care in the local community. DHHS also manages four Veterans homes that serve approximately 650 disabled Veterans in Scottsbluff, Bellevue, Norfolk and Grand Island.

In 1992, the Homeless Veterans Dental Program was established by the VA. In surveys ranking the 10 highest unmet needs for homeless Veterans, dental care was consistently ranked as one of their top 3 unmet needs along with long term housing and child care.⁵ Studies have also shown that after dental care, Veterans report significant improvement in their perceived general health and overall self-esteem which helps them re-enter society as a productive member.

Sources:

1. Department of Veterans Affairs. State Summary, Nebraska and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; November 2010. Available at: http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/factsheets/ss_nebraska.pdf.

2. Tri-Service Center for Oral health Studies. 2008 DoD Recruit Oral Health Survey; 2008. Available at: http://www.usuhs.edu/tscohs/pdf/2008DoDRecruitOralHealthSurvey.pdf.

3. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System. Retrieved Date: 03/10/2015. Available at: http://www.nebraska.va.gov/features/Welcomes_Home.asp.

4. Nebraska Department of Veteran’s Affairs. Internal information; 2014.

5. U.S. Department of Veterans Affair. Office of Dentistry Homeless Veterans Dental Program. Retrieved Date: 03/10/2015. Available at: http://www.va.gov/homeless/dental.asp.