GALIT Dental Unit at Antarctic Station: Caring for Polar Researchers in the Harshest Conditions

Ukraine has its own research station in Antarctica — Akademik Vernadsky, located on Galindez Island in the Argentine Islands archipelago — a symbol of the country’s high scientific standing on the global stage. Antarctica has a special international legal status: under the Antarctic Treaty, all countries have equal rights to conduct scientific research, but none owns the territory.

Every year, a team from the National Antarctic Scientific Center (NASC) travels to the station to replace the outgoing expedition. The team includes scientists — biologists, meteorologists, and geophysicists — as well as specialists who ensure the station operates smoothly: a cook, a system administrator, a mechanic, a diesel electrician, and a doctor. Every role is vital, but the doctor’s responsibility is especially broad: caring for the health of the entire team throughout the year. The doctor must have knowledge in emergency medicine, internal medicine, traumatology, cardiology, surgery, mental health — and even dentistry — to provide qualified care in any situation.

In 2022, GALIT received a request from the NASC to produce a specialized dental unit for the Akademik Vernadsky station. The task was a true challenge. The unit had to operate flawlessly in the extreme conditions of Antarctica, in a small medical room with no water or sewage connections, and without the possibility of on-site service visits. The team rose to the challenge, producing an autonomous mobile dental cart with the maximum possible configuration, including a Tecnodent patient chair.

The unit traveled approximately 15,000 kilometers with the 27th Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition: first by plane, then aboard the Ukrainian research vessel Noosphere, before finally arriving at the station in December. Despite the long journey, multiple transfers, and the treacherous Drake Passage, the unit arrived undamaged and was installed in the station’s medical facility.

Three years later, the GALIT dental unit continues to perform its vital function, providing medical care to Ukrainian polar researchers in Antarctica without any issues. In 2025, the 30th Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition replaced the previous team, giving us the opportunity to speak with Ivanna Koturbash, a general practitioner who spent a year at the station with the 29th expedition.

Ivanna carried great responsibility, monitoring the health of all team members and providing emergency care, as researchers often worked outside the station. She recalls that in favorable weather, the team would venture almost daily into the open ocean in inflatable motorboats to conduct biological research — sampling water, studying phyto- and zooplankton, and observing flora and fauna — as well as oceanographic studies, a key part of international research programs.

Since there are no roads in Antarctica, travel over the snow is done on skis, snowshoes, or snowmobiles, while trips across the water are made by motorboat. Work at the station is demanding, with risks of injury, frostbite, and hypothermia, and all incidents must be treated by the station doctor. Ivanna admits that providing dental care was her biggest challenge: she had never operated a dental unit before and had only a general understanding of dentistry from her medical training. To prepare, she completed several weeks of training at a dental clinic in Cherkasy, where experienced dentists taught her how to use the equipment.

“I really hoped I wouldn’t need these skills,” she smiles. “Before departure, all expedition members undergo thorough medical and dental check-ups, including panoramic X-rays and any necessary dental treatment.” Yet even on the journey to Antarctica aboard Noosphere, one crew member already complained of a toothache, and Ivanna was ready.

Ivanna also shared several memorable stories of treating patients on the GALIT unit. In spring, when the ice partially melts and tourists can visit the continent, Galindez Island often receives private yachts and ships. Ship captains know about the dental unit at the Ukrainian station, so tourists with toothaches can be treated there. One special case involved a French family: the mother, a dentist, developed a toothache, and with the help of the station team and the equipment, she received care. The visiting dentists were impressed with the functionality of the GALIT mobile cart.

Ivanna herself praises the GALIT unit’s ergonomic design. Despite limited prior dental experience, she quickly learned to operate the mobile unit intuitively. She conducted multiple treatments and notes that even without an assistant, she could confidently treat patients.

Arriving at the station, the new expedition has roughly ten days to unload supplies, equipment, and fuel — vital for the station’s operation — and to receive a handover from the outgoing team. New members are trained on the station’s facilities, technical systems, and daily life. Ivanna recalls that July to September, when the ice is thickest, is the most stressful period. The nearest station, the American Palmer, is 54 kilometers away — a short distance on a map, but a long and dangerous journey across open ocean in inflatable motorboats. During this time, medical help or evacuation is practically impossible.

Feedback from Ivanna about the GALIT dental unit fills us with pride. Every GALIT dental unit is handcrafted in Ternopil, Ukraine, by highly skilled people who create equipment that, as Ivanna’s experience in Antarctica demonstrates, is intuitive and easy to use even for a general practitioner with no formal dental training.

When asked if she would return to the station, Ivanna replied:

“Polar researchers fall into two categories: those who say — never again, and those who confidently say — of course!”

She adds that spending a year in Antarctica, observing the continent through different seasons, conducting research, and supporting the station is a great honor. “Antarctica is not just white, as everyone thinks,” she emphasizes. “It is a wealth of shades of white snow, an immense and powerful ocean, incredible sunsets during the white nights that you won’t see anywhere else, and the silence of nature when you are in a boat in the Antarctic Ocean.”