SF Physical

[Dusty]

When I was seven and my brother two, we climbed into a broken dryer while we were playing spaceman, and it was the kind that locked when shut-we couldn't get out.

We were in there for nearly four hours in August in Dallas.

If my mother hadn't knocked over a glass when she woke up from a nap, we wouldn't have started yelling so she could hear us and release us. We nearly bought two little farms.

Ever since, I've really gotta psyche up for enclosed spaces and whatnot.

[ZonieDiver]

Originally Posted by Erik1632

sfrecrutr, thank you so much for your input. I don't want any hic-ups along the road and will take your recommendation to heart. I am going to schedule an exam immediately and get this taken care of on my own time/budget. I don't leave for MEP's/Basic until mid September so that gives me about 6+ weeks still. Since I am having this done prior and should be fully healed long before then will I still need to bring the medical documentation with me or will the MEP's Doc be fine in just doing his standard dental check, observing the work and signing off? Thanks again for everyone input on this!

Check for dental schools in the area. They usually have a clinic for students to"practice" in... under supervision. You can save some $$, since you have no insurance.

[stfesta]

Don't discount MedPros.

I use it all the time. The data sheet will list Dental, Vision, and Hearing. It will also give the date and the class/status for all three. If they are green, that is one, two, or three things that the SM has to complete.

If the SM is cleared thru MedPros on dental, I remark "Teeth found to be in good repair on physical exam, SM is Class x on MedPros dated mm/dd/yyyy"

I've always put two statements for the SM to initial. The first is about the dark spaces.... and the other is "My physical condition hasn't changed since my last medical exam."

I make sure to give the SM a certified true copy of all labs, x-rays, and anything else they may need for the recruiter.

The more complete, the easier it is for the recruiter, the easier it is for the SM.
sf

[Ret10Echo]

Originally Posted by ZonieDiver

Check for dental schools in the area. They usually have a clinic for students to"practice" in... under supervision. You can save some $$, since you have no insurance.

Ohio State...

The OSU College of Dentistry offers primary care and a full range of specialty clinics all in one building. Patients can choose to receive care from:

A dental hygiene student in our dental hygiene clinic,
A second-, third- or fourth-year dental student in our student dental clinic, A graduate dental student doing advanced specialty study in our graduate clinics,
Or from one of our experienced faculty members in the faculty practice clinic.

[TimberWolf82]

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[PedOncoDoc]

Originally Posted by Erik1632

Thanks for all the great advice! I made a reservation at the Case Western Reserve School of Dentistry and go in next week for x-rays. Ohio State looks like a better school but it is also 4 hours away and with the price of gas right now this just seems to work best for me & my wallet. You were all a tremendous help!

As a graduate of the CWRU School of Medicine, I can tell you the dental school is excellent. Many of the patients I saw medically had dental work done through the student clinic and were pleased with the clinic.

[TimberWolf82]

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[Digger25]

Originally Posted by Sacamuelas

I haven't seen this explained before in the past threads here or elsewhere. Recruits need to understand that their oral health is examined and evaluated. Here is a brief explanation of the US Army Dental classifications system. Remember that you have to be a class 1 or 2 per Reaper's information. You don't make the decision on the likelyhood for future emergencies. The Dentist will make that judgement call based on his/her experiences. Don't take any chances.

The Department of Defense Dental Classification Guideline and AR 40-35 outline the following dental fitness classifications:

Class 1-
1. Soldiers who require no dental treatment
2. Soldier has had a complete dental exam within the past year

Class 2 -
1. Soldiers whose existing dental condition is unlikely to result in a dental emergency within 12 months
2. Soldier requires some type of dental care or re-check
Examples:
A few Simple fillings
Routine Dental cleaning
Simple wisdom tooth extraction

Class 3-
1. Soldiers who require dental treatment to correct a dental condition that is likely to cause a dental emergency within 12 months.
2. Soldier requires dental care as soon as possible
3. A dental emergency is likely to occur if the condition is not corrected
Examples:
Badly decayed teeth
Severe gum disease
Root canal needed
Painful or diseased wisdom tooth

Soldier is not deployable/acceptable

Class 4-
1. Soldiers who require a dental examination or panographic radiograph (X-ray).
2. Disease status is unknown

Soldier is not deployable/acceptable



*** Remember - The health of your entire mouth, not just your teeth. The mouth includes the teeth and the gums (gingiva), ligaments, muscles and jaw bones. It also includes the tongue, the lining of the mouth and throat, salivary glands and lymph nodes.

Sir, in regards to the dental requirements, I just had all four wisdom teeth extracted along with having two implants placed in my top eye teeth (teeth 10 and 7). I ship 20111107 for BCT, and I'm scheduled to have crowns placed 2 weeks prior to that ship date. My question is, am I in the clear as far as falling into Class 2 for the SF physical? My oral surgeon and dentist say I will be completely healed by ship date, as there is no recover period after crown placement, only recover time after the implant surgery I just had. Thanks for any and all information.

[WhiskeyBoarder]

All:

I have been recommended for attendance to SFAS by the NQP program at which I participate. Unfortunately, I am encountering continued difficulty locating a location to complete my Special Forces physical exam. I live and work in D.C., and was hoping to have the exam completed at either Belvoir or Bethesda (although I am willing to commute nearly any where, if necessary). Both locations are indicating that I need to be on active duty orders (for more than 30 days) to allow them authorization to complete the exam.

Is there anyone here that may be able to provide guidance? I am hoping to hear from either someone that has completed their physical in the D.C. area, or, perhaps, someone connected to one of the bases up here that may be able to provide a helpful connection.

I hate to sound like I am requesting a shortcut. I am dedicated to this effort. I attended NQP drills during a break in service, receiving no pay, and incurring all transportation costs, so I am definitely willing to do the legwork. But it seems to me that I would not be making the most of my resources by continuing to stumble around blindly when no doubt someone participating here has encountered my same dilemma previously, or has knowledge of how it can be easily overcome.

I appreciate any help that you may be able to provide. Thank you.

[Eagle5US]

Originally Posted by WhiskeyBoarder

All:

I have been recommended for attendance to SFAS by the NQP program at which I participate. Unfortunately, I am encountering continued difficulty locating a location to complete my Special Forces physical exam. I live and work in D.C., and was hoping to have the exam completed at either Belvoir or Bethesda (although I am willing to commute nearly any where, if necessary). Both locations are indicating that I need to be on active duty orders (for more than 30 days) to allow them authorization to complete the exam.

Is there anyone here that may be able to provide guidance? I am hoping to hear from either someone that has completed their physical in the D.C. area, or, perhaps, someone connected to one of the bases up here that may be able to provide a helpful connection.

I hate to sound like I am requesting a shortcut. I am dedicated to this effort. I attended NQP drills during a break in service, receiving no pay, and incurring all transportation costs, so I am definitely willing to do the legwork. But it seems to me that I would not be making the most of my resources by continuing to stumble around blindly when no doubt someone participating here has encountered my same dilemma previously, or has knowledge of how it can be easily overcome.

I appreciate any help that you may be able to provide. Thank you.

There may be a miscommunication as you must simply complete your physical (by a current Army Flight SGN) on a single set of orders.

That is to say-

You shouldn't need to be on orders for 30 days AS LONG AS you can get your part 1 and part 2 done on the same set of orders. This means your labs, hearing, vision, dental etc all have to be accomplished (and lab results received) i.e. PART 1 on the same set of orders that you have the hands on portion of your physical PART 2. This may be what they are trying to tell you. It is not unusual for labs to take 2-3 weeks to be resulted.

Hope this helps.

[Slantwire]

Originally Posted by WhiskeyBoarder

Both locations are indicating that I need to be on active duty orders (for more than 30 days) to allow them authorization to complete the exam.

The medical facilities are required to bill someone for the time and lab costs. I've heard of three ways to handle this, but I only have first-hand experience with one.

1. If you're on AD orders for 30 days or more, you're automatically covered by AD Tricare. That's easiest for the clinic, so it's what they tell you to do. (Or at least, that's what they told me.)

2. Orders for less than 30 days give them no account to bill, unless your orders explicitly provide it. I have been told that your unit can put you on orders for one day, with whatever appropriate accounting and billing information the clinic needs; then the clinic will gladly see you and process you on that one particular day.

Note: I think this means you'll need two separate one-day orders. One for when they run all the lab tests and take samples, and another two or three weeks later when the doc does the physical exam and signs the paperwork. In between, the clinic will run labs and (theoretically) the doc will review your file so he's informed before the actual exam. This doesn't seem to fit what Eagle5US said about the same set of orders, so it may not be correct. Find out and report back, so others can benefit.

3. Schmooze the admin folks into letting you do it anyway. I can neither confirm nor deny that this works.

[WhiskeyBoarder]

Originally Posted by Slantwire

3. Schmooze the admin folks into letting you do it anyway. I can neither confirm nor deny that this works.

This is the option I am trying to work currently. However, both locations have a safeguard to prevent this effort's success: They schedule via Tricare (which brings me, full circle, to the issue of requiring orders).

I just got off the phone with the clinic in Belvoir and, no-go. But I am in touch with my NQP program and I am confident we will work something out. If it will provide an option with less hassle, I am even willing to travel to Bragg to have the exam done.

I appreciate your responses. At least now I have rationale to allow me to better understand the requirement for actve duty orders. Thank you.

[smg2080]

WhiskeyBoarder I recentley completed my SFAS physical at the Fort Lee TMC. I am active duty and I'm not sure about your situation but its worth a shot the number to the clinic is 804-734-9057. Its only a couple hour drive for you from DC.

[WhiskeyBoarder]

I don’t know how likely it is that any other candidates may be encountering the same difficulty as I had originally in regards to completing the SF physical as a National Guardsman (described in posts above) AND are located in the Washington, DC area. But if so, here are the steps I followed to successfully navigate the issue:

I had all labs, the chest x-ray, and EKG completed by my private provider. Total cost was a single co-payment.

Although the National Guard coordinates annual dental exams via Health Readiness, I had one conducted by my private dentist, in the hopes that I may make the cut-off date for an upcoming SFAS class. Either option works; my dentist signed DD form 2813 and the appropriate block on the 2808.

There is a really helpful Navy physician working in the Occupational Health clinic at the Bethesda Naval Hospital. I took all of my documentation to him and he completed the physical portions of the exam. He didn’t require Tri-Care, orders, or anything to establish the appointment; basically, the physician was seeing me out of generosity. I can provide his contact information via PM. However, he indicated that he may deploy soon. At that time, there may be other POCs within the Occupational Health clinic willing to help.

The physician executed the 2808. It still requires the SOCOM stamp but in the case of the NQP program in which I participate, the cadre works this issue on candidates’ behalf.

I hope this is helpful. If anyone has any questions, please do not hesitate to PM me, although my SF physical knowledge, really, is restricted to the experience described above.

[Ranger0704]

Does a physician (MD or DO) have to do the physical or can it be done by an Army PA?