Working

by Jeanne M. Delaney

"A lot of recruits tell me that no one ever explained dental hygiene to them before," Cherco explains. In the private sector, people have been shown how to floss so many times that they are sick of the nagging, Cherco says, but the recruits are very appreciative, and it makes her feel good to know that she may be helping them keep their teeth for a lifetime.

Cherco had been working in the private sector for more than 20 years when a friend accepted a job at the Naval Station in Norfolk, Virginia. She was constantly telling Cherco how much she enjoyed the change of environment, and later encouraged her to seek employment at Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois. "I had been with the same dentist for a number of years and was happy there, but felt like I was ready for a change," Cherco says. "When I saw an ad in the paper [for a position at the base] I applied for it." She got the job in October 1999 and has been working there ever since. "I love my job at boot camp. Besides not having to work nights and Saturdays, I am provided with a number of paid days off and all my CEUs [continuing education units] are provided at the base, during working hours."

Great Lakes Naval Training Center, where Cherco practices dental hygiene, is the only remaining boot camp for the Navy. More than 55,000 recruits go through eight weeks of basic training there, each year. At any given time, there are at least 10,000 recruits on the base. Recruits come from all over the world; however, many come from lower socio-economic backgrounds and have never had an oral health care exam.

When the recruits first arrive on the base, they go through"inprocessing," where they receive haircuts, medical exams, and dental screenings. Three dental hygienists work at these screenings, where the recruit's oral health needs are prioritized and a decision is made as to what treatment concerns will be addressed at boot camp, and which can wait for a future duty station. The next stop is the USS OSBORNE Dental Clinic, the building where Cherco works. Generally, a whole division (approximately 80 recruits) is sent over at one time. Some go to the oral surgery department; others go to the endodontic, operative, or perio departments.

"We don't work on a traditional schedule," says Cherco. "We have a large reception area and as we finish one recruit, we call another one back." The recruits arrive as early as 6:00 a.m. and the last are seen around 11:30 a.m. The recruits then break for lunch, and in the afternoon another division arrives. There are more than 100 dentists and 15 dental hygienists on the base in four separate locations.

Cherco explains that even among those recruits who have received oral health care, many haven't been to a dental office in a long time. "We spend a lot of time on education. They don't realize that soda, energy drinks, and juices have sugar in them. We see a lot of what we call 'Mountain Dew mouths' from eating on the run, from drive-thru's, and junk food--and that causes lots of caries." Dental work is provided as a benefit to the recruits, but Cherco and her coworkers always explain how much money the recruits would have had to spend in private practice to get the same treatment. "Most recruits are very appreciative of the care they receive because they know they need it, and they are grateful of the opportunity to get it done. Some have shared that they joined the Navy specifically to get their teeth fixed; unfortunately, many just didn't have the access to care that they needed when they were younger," Cherco says.

Cherco graduated from Lake Land College in Mattoon, Illinois in 1977. She is the component trustee for Lake County and plans to teach clinical instruction, part-time at the College of Lake County.