For those asking what a normal day for a dentist aboard a US warship is like, this is the blog post for you. For these past seven weeks, I have been working six days per week (got to respect the Sabbath) trying to maintain the ship's dental readiness. My sole purpose is to maintain and promote the oral health of the ship's crew and all other embarked personnel; basically what that means for me is I have to make sure all 1100 of our sailors, plus the roughly two-hundred or so people who go on deployment with us (but aren't technically ship's company), get their annual exam completed and any treatment handled of in a timely manner. If you're wondering how much I actually work, in July the dental department had 258 patient encounters, 108 of which were exams & 116 cleanings. To put that into perspective, it probably took me 2-2.5 months to see that many patients during my residency program last year. We are working in a FDNF environment (forward-deployed naval forces) so the conditions are pretty austere, so we really don’t have a lot of support when it comes to specialty dental care; if you need a root canal from a specialist or if you have crazy third molars that need to come out, welp…you have to either get off the ship when we go to Okinawa or if we’re back in port you have to take a 5-hour bus ride up to Iwakuni. Supply is also a huge concern. A lot of the dental companies don't ship to our location, so finding vendors who are willing to ship us items is always a challenge.
The guys I work with are really great and I couldn't ask for a better group. My techs, HM3 Hunter, HM3 Goods & HM2 Escala help with patient care and complete daily required maintenance in the spaces owned by our department around the ship. HM2 Wungow is my dental hygienist and does cleanings during our allotted hours for patient care and completes his required maintenance at night. If you’re wondering what we have to do maintenance on, just know that not only do we own dental-specific spaces, storerooms & ladder wells, but we are responsible for an entire berthing where around 180 Marines live & sleep.
(For those wondering, that landmass behind us in the 1st picture is Papua New Guinea!)
So a normal day for me includes waking up at 0630, getting ready in the morning then heading to breakfast in the wardroom, where the officers eat their meals. After breakfast at 0700 I go to Khaki Call on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays, where all of the department heads, assistant department heads & department leading chief petty officers will meet with the XO (the second-in-command over the entire ship) to discuss hot-topics for the day/week. After Khaki Call, I head down one deck to the medical/dental spaces for quarters at 0730; this is a brief meeting where I discuss the plan of the day and important events that are occurring during the day/week with my team.
After quarters, we begin patient care at 0830 and work until 1030. Then I “secure” my team for lunch. We quit working at 1030 because the line in the mess deck, where the enlisted sailors eat, can get rather long so I give my techs two and a half hours to make sure they have plenty of time to eat. I normally finish up administrative things for the morning before going to eat lunch around 1215; I take this time to finish notes and sign papers. Then I hop up to the wardroom for chow and enjoy some time chatting with fellow officers. Once everyone is back from lunch, we continue with patient care at 1300 and quit at 1500. After completing my notes for the day, I head back to my stateroom to decompress.
Occasionally I will go to “Vultures Row,” an area up above the flight deck and watch flight operations. It’s nice getting to see the Sun and watching helicopters and F35s take-off/land on a ship in the middle of the ocean; it’s astounding. (Check out the few photos below that I took to satisfy my wife's constant reminder.)
I typically eat dinner around 1800. Time permitting, my pilot roommate, Mike (AKA "Stego") and I will go run before heading to chow. After dinner, on Tuesdays and Fridays, my techs will see patients for cleanings from 1830 to 1930. Because the ship has people working at all hours of the day, these night appointments help me see sailors who work the odd shifts, without disrupting their sleep schedule. After patient care, I will head upstairs, take a shower and either read a book or watch a movie. My roommates, Stego and Adam (a civilian contractor), and I have just completed a Marvel movie marathon. I think the plan is to watch all 11 Star Wars films before the end of this float.
Earlier this month the ship completed some exercises, known as the Tailsman Sabre, alongside the Japanese, Canadian, Australian, and Korean Navies down in the Coral Sea off the coast of Australia. Check out the ship's official Facebook page for more information about these exercises, because all I know is that they were happening while I continued my work as the ship's one and only dentist!
Then we got to experience the first real port call since COVID hit, by visiting Guam. We were given the opportunity to stay off the ship in town, and I wasn't missing the chance to enjoy some time off my floating steel home. Stego (Mike), Chubes (Alex), Squirrel (Dave), Ron (Tom) and I stayed at this very nice resort in the Tumon Bay area of Guam. Rather than wait for the shuttle, __ rented a limo to pick us up from the ship and take us to the hotel! Our extended weekend (Sunday-Tuesday) consisted of sitting by the pool, hanging in our hotel rooms, and eating some very nice meals. It was a pretty uneventful trip, exactly the way I wanted it to be. Nothing beats a long weekend of drinking on a beach with some friends after a month and a half of non-stop working! If you're unsure as to why these people have nicknames, they are all helicopter pilots who are a part of the ship's crew. None of them are flying right now, but they fulfill other roles aboard the ship. Stego is the Safety Officer on board, while Chubes, Squirrel & Ron are all officers in the Air Department. I really enjoyed the trip and getting to know the air guys a little bit better. While we all work and eat in the same area, our schedules make it tough to catch up while at sea, so this time in Guam was perfect for hanging out with the guys.
I have enjoyed my experiences on board thus far, but I can't deny that I am ready to get to my new home. I haven’t been to Sasebo yet, but wherever Katie, Hugo and Reynolds are will always be home. Plus, I'm pretty sure you guys have seen more of my home through our blog than I have...the internet aboard the ship isn't great, so my imagination and the few pictures Katie can get through via email are all I've seen so far!
From the big blue void, yours,
Bryan
Wow B!!! You have traveled more in 6 weeks than most of us for our whole lives!! I’m not surprised that you’ve got friends from all over the world. I love the photos from the shop deck! It looks like your in good, fun company. Guam looks beautiful. I’m so glad you and the guys took pictures so that folks back home could see you. You look so fit!! You and Katie make an awesome team! You run a dental department on a floating city, and she runs the Sasebo Homestead. Unbeatable team. Your schedule sounds very demanding I’m sure it helps the time go by fast. And you’re making a difference in so many mouths 🤣😆🤓. We miss you so much!…
Enjoyed your write up so much. Glad you are enjoying the work and the guys you work with. If Katie can learn how to use a drill and hammer think she will overcome. Know how she fells but it will come. I'm sure everybody will be glad when you are home for a visit. Have you had Kobe beef yet. Delicious. Take care of yourself and each other. Thanks for your service and hope to see you in November Love you Gram