UNMC-powered Army dental team provides care in Philippines

“Only three dentists were selected for this trip and imagine my surprise when I found out that all of us are graduates of the UNMC College of Dentistry!” — Capt. Charles Craft, D.D.S.

A 1980 graduate of the UNMC College of Dentistry and dental officer in the U.S. Public Health Service, Capt. Charles Craft, D.D.S., has spent the past 28 years providing dental care to underserved people around the world.

During a 2007 mission in the Philippines, Dr. Craft saw firsthand the potential global impact College of Dentistry graduates can truly achieve.

On Jan. 30, during a rare visit to his alma mater, Dr. Craft discussed the mission in the Philippines that fatefully found him working side-by-side with two other UNMC College of Dentistry graduates, Lt. Casey Burns, class of 2005, and Lt. Col. Todd Lincoln, class of 1987.

The following is a description of that mission in his own words.

Capt. Charles Craft, D.D.S.

“In February and March of 2007, a joint team of 30 U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Service medical personnel were deployed to the Philippines in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The purpose of the mission, called Operation Balikitan, was to provide humanitarian assistance to local Christian and Muslin populations living on the southern island of Mindanao and to gain regional stability in the global war on terror.

“The southern Philippines is known to harbor several active international terrorist organizations and is also the location of active combat operations between the Philippine army and separatist insurgent groups. The U.S. medical personnel were augmented by members of the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army Special Forces who provided security protection for our team as we traveled by military caravan to eight remote villages.

“This Medical Civic Action Program (MEDCAP) team was able to provide primary medical care, emergency dental care, veterinary care, general eye care and pharmacy services to thousands of underserved people. We arrived each day in the pre-dawn hours to establish operations in community buildings and school houses in off limit jungle zone areas.

“Only three dentists were selected for this trip and imagine my surprise when I found out that all of us are graduates of the UNMC College of Dentistry!

“The three ‘Huskers’ worked side-by-side with several U.S. Dental Corpsmen and their host nation counterparts. We quickly set up field dental stations with limited portable equipment and instruments. Local translators helped explain the treatment to patients or their parents. Most of the children and adults were suffering from acute dental pain and infection. Multiple tooth extractions were performed. More than 1,300 dental patients were seen and the entire mission team saw more than 7,500 cases altogether.

“In all more than 16,500 treatment services were provided, with an estimated humanitarian value of $750,000.

“We considered it an honor to have served on this important mission in the Philippines and to have provided relief to the people caught in the middle of the conflict there. It was an added bonus to discover that the UNMC College of Dentistry was also behind the efforts of this outstanding military medical team.”