Q: Why are our tax dollars paying for dependents over the age of 23 to get braces? If the family was stationed in the States the dental plan would not pay, so why is it they can get them here? I think that if a service is not covered stateside, it shouldn’t be covered here. Only family members that are under the age of 23 should be allowed to get braces.

A: Thank you for a great question. We fully recognize the importance of this service to all our fellow fleet Sailors and their families. A great majority of orthodontics is elective and for cosmetic purposes only. However, the DoD allows our orthodontists to treat a limited number of our beneficiaries on a space available basis to provide an improved standard of living for your shipmates. Our orthodontics board meets every month and is comprised of the orthodontists, a pediatric dentist, an oral surgeon, and maxillofacial surgeon. The orthodontic board makes an effort to treat all ages based on need, with special consideration given to children. Our exam scoring system is weighted toward treating children, particularly those requiring growth modification. The vast majority of our patients are dependent children and active duty members and dependents over the age of 23 make up a small percentage of our treatment population. However, there are others we are obligated to accept as transfer patients who began their care with civilian orthodontics before their sponsor ’s orders were written. Additionally, any child who needs growth modification to prevent or diminish the need for surgical intervention as an adult is accepted for care without hesitation. We make every effort to treat as many patients as we can, based on need and availability, but we have not had the resources to serve everyone. We’ve recently developed a plan to remodel our clinic so that we may provide care to a larger population than we are currently able to serve. We do wish we could treat everyone who presents for an evaluation. We will certainly be able to see more patients in the future once we expand our facility and staff.