Navy dental professionals are expanding patient care capabilities through advanced digital dentistry while ensuring Sailors receive the hands-on training necessary to sustain these capabilities for the Fleet and contingent environments.

Lt. Cmdr. Elizabeth Joseph, assigned to Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Unit Portsmouth, NH, and serves as Dental Department Head at the naval health clinic, recently led department training focused on dental impressions, digital scanning and clinical photography. The training is designed to ensure every dental corpsman assigned to the department develops proficiency in these fundamental skills.

“Comprehensive Dentistry residency really expanded my understanding of digital dentistry and expanding the capabilities of general dentistry services,” Joseph said. “I want every corpsman that passes through our department to be comfortable with these skills too.”

Traditional alginate impressions, remain an essential dental skill, allowing teams to create stone models and fabricate items such as mouth guards and trays. While digital technology continues to advance, maintaining proficiency in traditional techniques ensures Sailors can provide quality care regardless of the equipment available at their next duty station.

Digital intraoral scanning provides an additional capability by creating a three-dimensional model of a patient’s teeth. These scans can support the production of night guards, sports guards, bleaching trays, orthodontic appliances and other dental products. When appropriate, scanning can also reduce the number of appointments required for patients who travel significant distances for care.


“When time allows, we can get a quick five-minute scan of the patient, so the next appointment is simply a delivery,” Joseph said. “This saves everyone time and creates a more efficient workflow.”

The dental department’s digital capabilities are further enhanced by an in-house mill and oven, allowing the dental team to produce same-day crowns. A procedure that traditionally may require weeks for laboratory processing can, in appropriate cases, be completed in approximately two to three hours.

Joseph also emphasized the importance of dental photography as a clinical tool. High-quality images improve patient education, communication with dental laboratories and specialty referrals, while providing valuable documentation of oral conditions. The dental team is now trained to assist in obtaining comprehensive photographic records that help communicate the full clinical picture.

The training is also supporting future innovation. Joseph is exploring the integration of dental photography and 3D scanning with orthodontic expertise from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Orthodontics team to expand access to limited clear-aligner orthodontic treatment.

By combining advanced technology with foundational clinical skills, Navy dental teams are improving efficiency, strengthening corpsman proficiency and increasing the capabilities available to Sailors and beneficiaries. "Completing training on 3D intraoral scanners and clinical dental photography made me a much more versatile Quad Zero Corpsman.” Stated Hospital Corpsman Third Class Lydia Horne.” Instead of having to wait for specialized techs, I can jump right in and capture full-arch digital scans in under 10 minutes, run manual alginate impressions, and document patient cases. It kept the chairs rotating, cut down patient wait times, and helped the whole clinic run smoother when we were short-staffed."

These efforts demonstrate how Navy Medicine continues to modernize care while maintaining the readiness and adaptability required to support the Fleet.

Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command, (NMRTC) New England provides operational training and healthcare to optimize Warfighter and Family Health and Readiness.