I am Dr. Latisha Martin, a dental officer serving as a Lieutenant at Marine Corps Recruiting Depot, Parris Island South Carolina. A native of Ohio, I received a Bachelor’s degree in Science in 1997 from Alabama A&M University in Huntsville. I was awarded the United States Navy Health Professions Scholarship after serving for five years in the United States Navy as a Psychiatric Technician. I earned my Doctorate of Dental Surgery from Howard University College of Dentistry in Washington, D.C. in 2006, after which I was awarded a Michigan State dental license. I have membership affiliations in the Naval Hospital Beaufort Dentists Association, the Low Country Dental Society Study Group, the National Naval Officers Association, the Academy of General Dentistry and the American Dental Association.
Working mostly with a military patient base, where after I completed my one-year general dentistry residency at the Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego California, I served for one year, as one of two Dental Officers at Branch Health Clinic Diego Garcia, I also have an experience working with the uninsured population. During my dental school training, I treated adult, pediatric, and geriatric patients who suffered from dental caries, periodontal disease, malocclusions, infections and oral cancer as a result of their limited access to care and/or financial limitations. My dental experience includes working at Gage-Eckington elementary, a full-service school-based dental clinic, where I worked with children from low-income families. In addition to providing sealants, I contributed to decreasing oral diseases in the elementary school population through providing routine hygiene, restorative and surgical procedures.
My clinical practice includes close working with diverse population within urban communities. While working with Whitman-Walker Clinic and the Spanish Catholic Center, I gained a greater appreciation for the need for comprehensive community outreach, acknowledging the diversity in understanding the importance of oral health within such communities. My community-based interaction also includes improving oral health and oral disease prevention in Washington D.C. where I provided emergency services, preventive care, restorations and oral health education for low-income, uninsured and immigrant populations.
The most recent working experience as a dental officer was overseeing 30 staff members, both military and civilian, participating in the National Children’s Dental Health Month 2009. This experience was comprised raising children’s awareness about the importance of oral health in the Department of Defense elementary and the middle schools associated with local military service members. Through regular visits, I and my group were helping the kids develop good habits such as brushing, flossing, eating a healthy diet and scheduling regular dental visits at an early age in order to help children maintain a lifetime of healthy gums and teeth.
My commitment to providing quality dental care is based on my extensive experience and training in all aspect of comprehensive general dentistry. Accordingly my experience working with the low income and uninsured population is based on my desire to promote healthy life for the less fortunate social strata by providing them with the necessary tools and educational resources.