Do Not Remove Permanent Retainer

[cberg3]

Our recruiter, who also checked with his  Chief, told us to have our sons permanent retainer removed (you know the one they get after braces).  He saw the Navy Dentist at boot camp and come to find out, he did not have to have it removed.  I looked this question up before we had it removed and I could not find anything.  OH well, once he gets to A school he can have one put back in- provided my son remembrs to do just that (and finds the time).  How can we spread the word for any future parents???

[grumpy84]

First I would let the recruiter know what was said by the dentist. Things change and the recruiter needs feedback. Something like that would not have been a problem. They would have just removed it themselves if the Navy didn't want him to have it. Lots of recruiters "know" a lot but sometimes what they know can be outdated.

[NJNavy (IC,CS)]

Our SR. needed a waiver to keep the permanent retainer....

[lemonelephant]

This comes up often enough that I have updated Things to Do in the Last Month Before Your Future Sailor Leaves for... to include the following:

If your future Sailor wears a retainer (permanent or removable), s/he will be able to keep it at the RTC as long as it was declared in the paperwork; a waiver may be required for some ratings. Recruiters sometimes tell future Sailors to remove them, but your future Sailor should respectfully refuse and ask that the retainer be documented.

[ADKnavymom]

Does anyone know if they HAVE to get their wisdom teeth removed while at boot camp?  I have heard a few different stories?

[lemonelephant]

ADKnavymom, the Navy only does dental work that is needed. The dentists at the RTC consider if there may be a problem in the future and remove one, two, three, or all four of the wisdom teeth if needed. If there is a question, they may indicate that the teeth are to be checked at "A" School and removed then if needed. They also may put off removal of wisdom teeth until later if there is dental work that needs to be taken care of first. Some may not need any wisdom teeth removed; my Sailor still has his wisdom teeth nearly 5 years later. If it is determined that the recruit does need to have one or more wisdom teeth removed, this is scheduled at a time that will be the least disruptive to training and often several in the division have it done on the same day so they are recovering together. The recruits have 2 days SIQ and have someone who checks to see that the recruits are taking their pain meds and drinking plenty of water as directed. They then have at least one day of LLD and must be checked before returning to full training. We often hear that recruits have the wisdom teeth removed on Thursday or Friday, so they have the weekend to recover when no new training takes place. This is similar to the recovery time given in the civilian world. They are well taken care of and there have been recruits who were happy to have the time to rest and others who didn't have to have the teeth removed who wished that they had once they saw how their shipmates were treated while they had to clean the head or do other jobs in the compartment and continue with PT.

[ADKnavymom]

Thank you for the information lemon elephant, I have been on N4Moms quite often recently, as our son ships out to GL in two weeks.  I always find your comments to be most helpful.  I'm a little less worried about the wisdom teeth thing now  Thanks to you!

[lemonelephant]

You are very welcome and thanks for the kind words.

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