Action Line #100212–Dental Services Published March 12, 2010 By 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs NCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey -- Complaint: I have attempted to make dental appointments (just for cleaning), over the last four months. Each time I have been told there are no appointments available, as all spots are reserved for Active Duty personnel only. I have no problem understanding the dental clinic may not have enough staff to accommodate all personnel and families assigned to Incirlik. However, I have asked each time if they could recommend or give an off base referral and I am told - no! It seems to me if manning cannot accommodate basic teeth cleaning for all Incirlik Team members, that a qualified off-base source should be provided (as they do with the Orthodontist). Can you please advise? Response: Thanks for the question, and here's how the process works. Active duty appointments are managed for each month during the previous month. For example, we are starting to schedule April dental appointments for active duty members during the month of March. This allows us during the first week of each the month to release all remaining appointments to the non-active duty base population. Access for non-active duty will fluctuate based on demand and availability of providers, and therefore the number of open appointments at the beginning of each month. Unfortunately, we are prohibited by law from making any specific outside provider recommendations, and a referral is unwarranted as there is no requirement or military reimbursement for the non-active duty. As for an off base appointment, if you contribute to the TRICARE Dental plan, you do not need a referral from the dental clinic to see an off base provider with the exception of Orthodontics (braces), implants, or prosthodontics (crowns and bridges). For those services you simply come to the dental clinic and obtain a TRICARE referral form. Incirlik does not have any "preferred providers" through TRICARE which means you will need to pay the fee at the downtown provider and then file the paperwork through the TRICARE dental program. Reimbursement typically takes around two weeks. Since we are a government agency we cannot recommend specific providers but you can ask the TRICARE office for a list of downtown providers who we can accommodate your treatment requests. With the exception of orthodontics, this service (TDP) is highly underutilized. I encourage you to maximize this benefit. For those not enrolled in TDP, you can still stop by the TRICARE office and request a list of participating dentists. www.TRICAREdentalprogram.com