Nobody looks forward to a root canal, much less the hefty bill that usually accompanies the dental procedure.

The Naval Postgraduate Dental School that falls under the command of the Navy Medicine Professional Development Center on the campus of the Walter Reed National Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, can’t do much about the former. But the free root canal services provided by the licensed dentists completing their residencies there can go a long ways toward alleviating the latter.

“It’s a win-win situation,” said Navy Capt. Terry D. Webb, chairman of the endodontics department and program director for the endodontics residency program. “We get the benefit of learning more from treating these root canals. [Patients] get the opportunity to get excellent, quality treatment free of charge.”

The service is available to all active duty service members, their families, retirees and the families of retirees, Webb said, provided they already have a dentist who can complete the restorative treatment with the subsequent crown or filling necessary.

Root canals and the follow-up care required can often run patients as much as $3,000 in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area even after insurance contributions, Webb said. It’s for that reason that he welcomed the opportunity to ease the financial burden on military members and their families having to endure the process.

It doesn’t hurt that the added practice is good for the aspiring endodontists, who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders affecting the inside structures of the tooth.

“The more patients they treat, the better they get,” Webb said.

Lt. Cmdr. Andrea Lisell, endodontist, Naval Health Clinic Quantico, said it was important to get word out about the about the available service and to make sure the endodontists continue receiving the practice they need.

“If the patient is willing to drive up there and get seen,” said Lisell, a graduate of the Naval Postgraduate Dental School residency program, “we’re willing to cover it.”

Writer: jhollis@quanticosentryonline.com