Of course I had to. The three small screws remove easily but I was pleased to have some surgical forceps to pick them up with. With those out of the way I carefully turned the lens upside down into my palm and the front glass slide right out. Its a fairly thick piece of glass. As you can see this area is where the dust was living. A few puffs with a blower and it was clean. A few more and a quick brush on the back of the front element took care of it.
When I put the element back in rotating it counter clock wise produced a noticeable 'thunk' when the element seated properly. The screws went back in without a hitch and the seal replaced with a little adhesive.