Dental Technicians — DT ratings — assisted Navy dentists with dental procedures, maintained dental equipment, managed dental records, and provided dental clinic support at naval dental facilities afloat and ashore. DT billets were at ship’s dental offices aboard carriers and larger vessels, at naval hospital dental clinics, at naval station dental facilities, and at standalone naval dental clinics throughout the shore establishment.

Shore Dental Facility and Asbestos

DT ratings working in naval dental facility buildings accumulated secondary asbestos exposure:

  • Naval hospital and medical center dental clinics — the dental clinic spaces in naval hospitals and naval medical centers were located in institutional medical building complexes of the WWII-era or early Cold War construction using asbestos ceiling tile, asbestos floor tile, and asbestos pipe insulation in the building mechanical systems. DT ratings assigned to naval hospital dental departments worked in these spaces throughout their shore duty tours
  • Naval station dental facility buildings — the standalone dental clinic buildings and dental annex spaces at naval stations and naval air stations used administrative and clinical building construction from the WWII and postwar era with asbestos-containing building products throughout. DT ratings assigned to shore command dental facilities worked in these buildings throughout their assignments
  • Building renovation and maintenance — renovation and maintenance in occupied naval dental and medical facility buildings periodically disturbed asbestos-containing materials in clinical and administrative spaces occupied by DT ratings, creating secondary exposure from building maintenance operations

Carrier and Shipboard DT Billets

DT ratings serving in carrier dental offices accumulated shipboard asbestos exposure:

  • Carrier ship’s dental office — DT ratings serving in the ship’s dental spaces aboard Essex class, Midway class, and Forrestal class carriers worked in the asbestos-containing interior of these WWII-era and 1950s-1960s-era vessels. Dental spaces were typically located in the ship’s medical department area amid the asbestos-containing interior construction of these carriers

VA Claims for DT Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure at naval medical and dental facilities and aboard Navy vessels. Dental Technicians who served in shore commands with WWII-era or early Cold War building stock or aboard pre-1980 carriers and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.