Locations:

Air Force Postgraduate Dental School & Clinic
Bldg 3352, JBSA-Lackland, Texas

Dunn Dental Clinic
Bldg 6418, JBSA-Lackland, Texas

Oral/Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic (210-292-7878)                                                                                                                                                          Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, 2nd Floor B Wing, JBSA-Lackland, Texas

Appointment Lines

210-292-0123, 210-292-8850, 210-292-0495

Sick Call (Dunn Dental Clinic)

Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

2nd Friday of each month

7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

Sick call appointments are on a first-come-first-served basis. 

Eligibility

Active Duty

The primary mission of the 59th Dental Group is to maximize the dental readiness and oral health of active duty members. Priority for access to care within any Air Force Dental Clinic is governed by Air Force Instruction 47-101. A Group Policy letter establishing priority for care categories of active duty personnel is available at the reception areas of all 59th DG clinics.

Space Available (all others)

By Air Force Instruction, non-urgent dental care for all non-active duty patients is limited to "Space Available" care is extremely limited. Availability of appointments for non-active duty beneficiaries varies greatly throughout the year. For more information on Space Available appointments, please contact the appropriate dental clinic listed above.

Active duty family members are strongly encouraged to be enrolled in the TRICARE Family Member Dental Plan (FMDP). By law, family members enrolled in the FMDP are not authorized space-available dental care for procedures covered by the insurance plan. Retirees and their family members are encouraged to enroll in the TRICARE Retired Dental Plan.

Specialty Care (all beneficiaries) 
In some instances, patients may have specific dental needs that make them suitable for selection as candidates for our specialty care programs: periodontics, prosthodontics, endodontics, orthodontics, oral maxillofacial surgery, pediatric dentistry, or maxillofacial prosthetics. For active duty beneficiaries, if you are identified as a candidate for specialty care, your primary dental care provider will consult with you on your dental needs and make the necessary specialty referrals. In addition, they will provide you with information on the appointment process for your specific dental needs. For non-active duty beneficiaries, a referral is required from your civilian dental provider. 

Dental Emergency Care

After-hours Dental Emergency Care
For after-hours dental emergencies, patients will need to contact the Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center's Family Emergency Center at 210-292-7331.

Care will be provided to patients who have the following conditions:

• Bleeding
• Swelling
• Pain that cannot be relieved by pain medicine
• Minor trauma/injury

Patients with the following conditions should report to the San Antonio Military Medical Center Emergency Department:

• Severe trauma/injury to the face or jaw
• Any potentially life-threatening condition

The following are generally NOT considered to be dental emergencies:

• Loose teeth (adult or baby teeth) unless associated with trauma/injury
• Loose permanent or temporary crowns
• Broken fillings or teeth that occur while eating
• Minor gum irritation

Active duty family members and retirees enrolled in dental insurance plans should make every effort to contact their civilian dentist for urgent care needs prior to contacting the Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center's Family Emergency Center.

Specialty Dentistry Descriptions

General Dentistry
Dental treatments such as restorative (fillings, crowns, bridges), prosthetic (dentures), endodontic (root canal) therapy, periodontal (gum) therapy, and exodontia (extraction of teeth), as well as performing examinations, radiographs (x-rays) and diagnosis.

Endodontics
A dental specialty that deals with the tooth pulp and the tissues surrounding the root of a tooth. Endodontists perform a variety of procedures including root canal therapy, endodontic treatment, surgery, treating cracked teeth, and treating dental trauma. Root canal therapy is one of the most common procedures. If the pulp (containing nerves, arterioles, venules, lymphatic tissue, and fibrous tissue) becomes diseased or injured, endodontic treatment is required to save the tooth.

Maxillofacial Prosthetics
Delivers facial, ocular and other prostheses which restore form and function to the maxillofacial area of the body.

Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
Surgery to correct a wide spectrum of diseases, injuries and defects in the head, neck, face, jaws and the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region. It is a recognized international surgical specialty and it is one of the nine specialties of dentistry.

Orthodontics
A dental specialty concerned with the study and treatment of malocclusions (improper bites), which may be a result of tooth irregularity, disproportionate jaw relationships, or both. Orthodontic treatment can focus on dental displacement only, or can deal with the control and modification of facial growth. In the latter case it is better defined as "dentofacial orthopaedics." Orthodontic treatment can be carried out for purely aesthetic reasons with regards to improving the general appearance of patients' teeth. However, there are orthodontists who work on reconstructing the entire face rather than focusing exclusively on teeth.

Pediatric Dentistry
A dental specialty which deals with children from birth through adolescence. This discipline focuses intimately on pediatric/adolescent growth and development, disease causality and prevention, child psychology and management, and all aspects of the highly-specialized Pediatric restorative techniques and modalities. Some Pediatric Dentists also specialize in the care of "special needs" patients, such as people with cerebral palsy, mental retardation and autism.

Periodontics
A dental specialty that studies supporting structures of teeth, diseases, and conditions that affect them. The supporting tissues are known as the periodontium, which includes the gingiva (gums), alveolar bone, cementum, and the periodontal ligament.

Prosthodontics (also known as Dental Prosthetics or Prosthetic Dentistry)
A dental specialty pertaining to the diagnosis, treatment planning, rehabilitation and maintenance of the oral function, comfort, appearance and health of patients with clinical conditions associated with missing or deficient teeth and/or oral and maxillofacial tissues using biocompatible substitutes.

Orofacial Pain

Orofacial Pain (OFP) is the specialty of dentistry that encompasses the diagnosis, management and treatment of pain disorders of the jaw, mouth, face, head and neck. The specialty of Orofacial Pain is dedicated to the evidenced-based understanding of the underlying pathophysiology, etiology, prevention, and treatment of these disorders and improving access to interdisciplinary patient care.

OFP associated disorders include but are not limited to temporomandibular muscle and joint (TMJ) disorders, jaw movement disorders, neuropathic and neurovascular pain disorders, headache, and sleep disorders.