#FlashbackFriday: 1994—The First Exchange-Operated Dental Office Opens
Thirty years ago this weekend, on June 23, 1994, Fairbanks Dental Clinic opened at Fort Hood (now Fort Cavazos). It was the first dental office operated by the Exchange.
“This grand opening is the first in the Department of Defense,” said Maj. Gen. Robert Swarts, the Exchange commander at the time. “For the first time, we have an opportunity for an AAFES concession-operated medical activity in the military.”
Those who attended the grand opening ceremony were greeted by a 5-foot-tall tube of toothpaste that talked and shook hands with well-wishers. The mascot was one indication of the clinic’s family-friendliness.
The service was made possible by a 1993 change in Army Health Services Command policy. Previously, the policy restricted family members of active-duty personnel to = emergency dental care in Army treatment facilities.
The old policy led family members to see dentists off-post—which at Fort Hood meant traveling 30 miles or more to find a dentist for routine care or wait an average of two months for a local appointment. Fort Hood was selected for the first Exchange-operated dental clinic to make dental care more convenient for family members.
Similar dental offices were later added at Forts Irwin and Stewart. On July 14, 2020, DOCS Dental opened its first office with the Exchange at Fort Eustis. The Exchange now has 26 dental clinics, with plans to open two more by 2025.
The Fort Hood dental office was not the Exchange’s first wellness offering. In January 1985 at Fort Lewis, the Exchange opened its first eye-examination service, at Fort Lewis, marking the organization’s entry into the health-care services business. Along with optical and dental, modern Exchange health-and-wellness services include durable medical equipment shops as well as chiropractic and cryotherapy clinics.
In this U.S. Army photo that appeared in the July 1994 Exchange Post, then-III Corps and Fort Hood Commander Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk speaks at the grand opening of the Fairbank Dental Clinic.
