The Royal Army Dental Corps today

The Royal Army Dental Corps (RADC) provides dental care to the British Army both in barracks and on deployment While a significant proportion of most RADC dental officers' careers is spent working in permanent military primary care dental clinics, it is the ability of all RADC dental officers to provide dental care when deployed that provides unique challenges only seen in the military environment. All RADC dental officers are able to deliver high quality care in temporary facilities. During a career the majority of RADC dental officers will have at least one job in a medical regiment providing the dental component of the British Army's rapidly deployable medical capability. This article covers some of the issues faced when delivering dental care outside the UK using portable equipment on a recent exercise. As RADC officers gain experience they are expected to lead increasingly large teams, both within primary care dentistry and some in the wider Army Medical Services, with the appropriate professional and military training to support their development. Working under pressure can be developed through the use of adventurous training and sport and the authors have pushed themselves well beyond their comfort zones in the air, on land and under the sea.