Dental Department
The dentists and technicians who keep the crew fit to serve.
Readiness Through Dental Care
The Dental Department kept thousands of sailors fit to serve, treating dental readiness as a direct component of mission readiness. Dental officers and technicians provided routine examinations, cleanings, fillings, and the care that prevents small problems from becoming disabling ones. A sailor sidelined by an untreated abscess is a sailor missing from a watch station, and at sea there is no clinic ashore to absorb that gap.
Beyond routine work, the department managed the emergencies that cannot wait — severe toothache, infection, broken or knocked-out teeth, and injuries to the jaw. Its operatories carried the instruments, X-ray capability, and materials to diagnose and treat on the spot. Dental personnel were also trained to assist the Medical Department, adding hands and skills to mass-casualty response when the ship needed them.
Aboard Constellation
Deploying for six months meant that every sailor’s dental health had to be sound before sailing and maintained throughout. The department worked steadily through the crew, catching problems early so that a long stretch at sea would not be interrupted by preventable emergencies. Care continued underway in compact operatories built into the ship, close to the berthing and working spaces of those they served.
When pain or injury struck far from port, the dental team was the only source of relief available — no appointment ashore, no specialist a short drive away. That isolation gave routine prevention real weight: a filling completed in home waters spared a sailor a difficult night in the Gulf. The department’s quiet, continuous work helped keep the crew whole and the watch bill full.
Roster
Sailors of Dental · Department roster, Dental Department, USS Constellation (CV-64), WESTPAC ’94–95 — transcribed from the original cruise book. Each name links to that Sailor’s page in the scanned book. See a misspelling or a shipmate we missed? Tell us and we’ll fix it.
- LCDRMilton J. Grahamp. 94
- LCDRJohn P. Piercep. 94
- LTVidas A. Cemarkap. 94
- LTOwen M. Forbesp. 94
- DTCFrank A. Ontiverosp. 94
- DT1Kendol P. Lewisp. 94
- DT2James R. Guilfordp. 94
- DT2Fernando Ramosp. 94
- DT3Kenneth C. Lawrencep. 94
- SNWilber E. Carmonap. 95
- DNErick Delpp. 95
- DNMarcus T. Garyp. 95
- DNMatthew J. M. Jonesp. 95
- DNJoe Kaop. 95
- ANDennis E. Moorep. 95
- DNJemarr N. Mosleyp. 95
- DNEdilberto P. Santiagop. 95
- DNJohn A. Spruiellp. 95
Questions & Answers
Why does a warship need a dental department?
Because untreated dental problems take sailors off the watch bill, and at sea there is no clinic ashore. Keeping the crew dentally fit is part of keeping the ship mission-ready.
Could dental staff help in a medical emergency?
Yes. Dental officers and technicians were trained to support the Medical Department and could be called on to assist in mass-casualty situations, adding trained hands when many injured needed care at once.