Still Serving the ATSU Mission: LT. Lindsay Godfrey
Posted: September 19, 2016
“My interest in dentistry came through an experience with my dad, who epoxied a crown back into his mouth that came loose from the violent shaking of his race car,” says Lindsay Godfrey, DMD, ’12, MPH, ’11. “It was fascinating to watch.”
While this is not a technique Dr. Godfrey recommends, it worked and she was hooked. As a teenager, she spent her time working and racing drag cars with her father and younger sister. Her passion for racing continued throughout high school, where she won a championship title and a scholarship that she used toward her undergraduate education at the University of California in San Diego (UCSD).
“I have found that dentistry is like auto repair on many levels. Dental tools are just smaller and the materials are medical grade,” says Dr. Godfrey. “My family and I joke that I am a molar mechanic.”
Her love of mechanics and handiwork, and desire to help others, led her into a career of dentistry and ultimately a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy.
From wrenches to forceps
At UCSD, Dr. Godfrey joined the university’s Pre-Dental Society and Student-Run Free Dental Clinic Project. She also volunteered at St. James and St. Leo’s Medical and Dental Clinic where she assisted the clinic’s dentists, who provided free dental care to low-income and uninsured patients.
Her experience at the free clinics ultimately steered Dr. Godfrey to A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral (ATSU-ASDOH). The School’s community-focused mission aligned perfectly with career objectives. She decided to take her mission-driven passion to another level, so during her first quarter at ATSU-ASDOH, Dr. Godfrey was sworn into the Navy as an officer.
She graduated from ATSU-ASDOH in 2012 with a doctor of dental medicine and master of public health degree. Graduation marked a promotion to lieutenant for Dr. Godfrey, and also the start of active duty with an initial assignment to the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. There she completed a one-year residency through the Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program, followed by two years providing care to the U.S. Marines. In 2015, she transferred to the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona, and started her assignment as division officer and general dentist.
A life on land to sea
In May 2016, the opportunity Dr. Godfrey had been pursuing for years finally came her way: she received notice of her five-month Pacific Partnership 2016 deployment aboard the U.S. naval ship the Mercy.
Pacific Partnership, an annual deployment of forces from the U.S. Pacific Fleet of the Navy, is designed to enhance partnerships among the Indo-Asia-Pacific region while providing humanitarian, medical, dental, and engineering assistance to these areas in need. In the event of a disaster, the Mercy is ready to respond within five days. Aboard the ship there is space for 1,000 patients, with 10 modern operating rooms, state-of-the-art medical and radiology labs, a full pharmacy, and fully equipped dental clinic.
Dr. Godfrey, who is second in command of the Mercy’s dental department, stays busy with a large variety of tasks.
“One day I might be caring for the ship’s crew and the next providing education and resources to healthcare professionals abroad,” says Dr. Godfrey. “It is rewarding having the chance to interact with dentists from other countries, sharing knowledge and providing care to their underserved communities. It ultimately strengthens our partnership with each nation we come in contact with.”
The Mercy dental team includes service members from the U.S. Army, Navy, and military forces from six different partner nations, as well as volunteers from nongovernmental organizations.
During the Pacific Partnership mission, Dr. Godfrey and her team will have visited ports in Timor-Leste, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia. At the culmination of the mission, the Mercy will have traveled over 20,000 nautical miles in five months. As well, the dental team will have examined thousands of patients, extracted thousands of teeth, provided more than 20 hours of lecture to dental practitioners, and donated more than 5,000 toothbrushes to communities in need.
Of Dr. Godfrey’s most memorable missions was the chance to work in Da Nang, Vietnam, a city that the U.S. military has not been invited to enter in over 40 years.
Mission to serve
During each mission, Dr. Godfrey has had the opportunity to visit small rural communities that make up most of Southeast Asia.
“I have really enjoyed figuring out how to work in the rural communities,” says Dr. Godfrey. “There would be dogs running through our clinic space; people were lined up for blocks and hours waiting to receive care in the heat; and children, eager to learn and speak English, would befriend us.”
The variety of duties and the people she met along the way are the things that have made this a special deployment for Dr. Godfrey.
“Humanitarian missions like this afford me the opportunity to serve my country and provide dentistry to those in less fortunate situations,” says Dr. Godfrey. “This mission is about strengthening relationships and I feel very honored and proud to have had the opportunity to serve with Pacific Partnership.”
In October, Dr. Godfrey will return to her duty station in Yuma – and Bum-Bum, her black and white mixed breed dog. She is excited about the future and will be receiving additional training through an operative dentistry residency in 2017. She is also planning visits to San Diego where she will continue to volunteer as a dentist at St. Leo’s Medical and Dental Clinic.
“It has been a dream come true that my passion of helping others has melded with my love for dentistry, and I get to do both of these passions while serving my country.”