Page 24 - RADC Bulletin 2022

some collaboration with the local Estonian Defence Force dentist to source some additional materiel that was denied transit, the dental centre was ready to operate.
Working 11-hour clinical days six days
a week with practice admin conducted in the evenings, the centre constantly ran at maximum capacity. The most fortuitous aspect of the deployment actually being
the integration of digital radiography in the surgery, meaning PDIs could be conducted within 15 minutes. Numerous equipment failures and resource limitations threatened to temporarily close the centre or limit capacity but the classic mantra of “adapt and overcome” rang true. Problem solving and lateral thinking at least kept PDIs ticking over if treatment could not be carried out. The Eschmann 3000B autoclave even pulled it’s weight, being uncharacteristically reliable making LCpl Cacho’s life and productivity much easier.
A secondary tasking of the deployment was also to provide local assurance to
the EDF dental services kindly providing emergency dental care to our SP in Tapa and the capital city Tallinn. A short meeting through an interpreter soon revealed the scale of support the BG had been receiving. With 25 patients presenting to the Tapa dentist in just the three weeks before
the Fwd Dental Team’s arrival. A theme emerging during our assurance visit was the language barrier and its important
role in consent. It soon became apparent that things would need to change to ensure the safety of patients despite the incredible generosity displayed by the EDF dental service. A more enduring dental commitment to Op CABRIT? Potentially.
One perk of working alongside the RTR is their willingness to throw unsuspecting clinicians into their Challenger 2s to thrash them around the rear training area of camp. With the RTR CO being so pleased with the effort shown by the dental team and the significant improvement in dental health stats, Capt Williams and LCpl Cacho were invited for a ride in the tanks. Seeing the tanks thundering around for the first time was an awe-inspiring and intimidating
site. LCpl Cacho’s gentle demeanour soon vanished when adopting the gunner’s position, looking all too at home and ready to wage war in the iron beast.
Returning home just over three weeks after initial deployment the 3 Med Regt Fwd Dental Team could be content that Op CABRIT had been well served by the dental treatment surge. With further deployments to Kenya on the horizon the high tempo of Medical Regiment life demanded the team’s return for preparation ahead of the next tasking. Many lessons had been learned
on Op CABRIT but more importantly the RADC’s ability to deploy teams at short notice to deliver effect was displayed and proven essential.
22 RADC BULLETIN 2022
DEPLOYMENT