Ask an Army Dentist

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This has nothing to do with anything that has been mentioned earlier, but I am very curious to hear about.

What advice would you (active duty Army Dentist) give about making statements about our current Commander in Chief? There is some discussion on this board about pay cuts, reversing dont ask dont tell, etc. I was wondering how much are you restrained by your status as a commissioned officer vs. a freethinking individual in regards to expressing your views.

Knowing that ethics is the right thing to do and the law is the point at which you will be punished, do you feel it is un-ethical or not, and is it something you can get busted for? Does anyone else worry about this or do they just feel free to fire away?

My understanding is that it is alright to have opinions and to mention them. What you have to be careful of is talking badly about anyone who is in your chain of Command (like the president).

So if you were concerned about the Army's new policy on eating hamburgers and the impact it might have (made up) that would be one thing. If you start saying my commander LTC Smith is such a jerk - that could get you in trouble.

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My understanding is that it is alright to have opinions and to mention them. What you have to be careful of is talking badly about anyone who is in your chain of Command (like the president).

So if you were concerned about the Army's new policy on eating hamburgers and the impact it might have (made up) that would be one thing. If you start saying my commander LTC Smith is such a jerk - that could get you in trouble.

the army has a new policy on eating hamburgers???? no one tells me anything.:rolleyes:
 
My understanding is that it is alright to have opinions and to mention them. What you have to be careful of is talking badly about anyone who is in your chain of Command (like the president).

So if you were concerned about the Army's new policy on eating hamburgers and the impact it might have (made up) that would be one thing. If you start saying my commander LTC Smith is such a jerk - that could get you in trouble.


I second what you said. Big Brother does monitor this website, as a lot of active duty military post on it. I personally know an active duty dentist that was contacted by the surgeon general's office because of negative posts he made on this site. So, he is no longer posting on here while he is on active duty. His posts weren't about the president, but were about the army in general.
 
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What was the selection process like after graduation to get to you stationed base? Did you get some of your top choices?

I will have to do OBC after I graduate. Does anyone know if I will find out what base I'm assigned to before I leave for OBC?
 
What was the selection process like after graduation to get to you stationed base? Did you get some of your top choices?

I will have to do OBC after I graduate. Does anyone know if I will find out what base I'm assigned to before I leave for OBC?

sting,

i got my first choice.

i found out around late feb early mar before graduation.

you should hear pretty soon.

good luck and stay army strong!
 
sting,

i got my first choice.

i found out around late feb early mar before graduation.

you should hear pretty soon.

good luck and stay army strong!

Toby, where was your 1st choice? Did you do OBC before or after graduation? Is there anything I can do now to get on the ball?
I'll graduate next spring in 2010.
Advice??
 
Toby, where was your 1st choice? Did you do OBC before or after graduation? Is there anything I can do now to get on the ball?
I'll graduate next spring in 2010.
Advice??

sting,

got posted in the national capital region.

there are so many reasons to do it after graduation. obc after graduation counts toward payback time, while during school doesn't. that's a minimum of 45 days saved. you get paid as a captain for those days instead of a 2lt. if you do it before graduation, then you have a earlier date of rank, thus you'll be higher on the OML for profis deployment.
maybe treated slightly better at obc. eligible for dental bonus from start date of obc just like if you had done it before. chance the uniforms and other stuff you buy 4 years before active duty might be obsolete, by the time you become a cpt. army stuff you will fresh in memory. that's all i can think of right now. i realize some stuff is minor, but the profis thing and getting paid better are significant.

you should make contact with HR right away and tell them where you want to go. they will annotate it in your excel file and even if the HR person changes, the replacement will know what you want. this is what i did. it worked out. contact them every six months or so, and more frequently closer to graduation. if you are near virginia, i would consider dropping by and saying hello with some notice obviously. if you want hawaii or monterey ca then that might be tough, but washington dc, west point, seattle might be available with persistence.

good luck and stay army strong!

toby keith fan
 
Does anybody have contact information for the Army Health Recruiter that would cover Minnesota? I'm interested in applying.
 
sting,

got posted in the national capital region.

there are so many reasons to do it after graduation. obc after graduation counts toward payback time, while during school doesn't. that's a minimum of 45 days saved. you get paid as a captain for those days instead of a 2lt. if you do it before graduation, then you have a earlier date of rank, thus you'll be higher on the OML for profis deployment.
maybe treated slightly better at obc. eligible for dental bonus from start date of obc just like if you had done it before. chance the uniforms and other stuff you buy 4 years before active duty might be obsolete, by the time you become a cpt. army stuff you will fresh in memory. that's all i can think of right now. i realize some stuff is minor, but the profis thing and getting paid better are significant.

you should make contact with HR right away and tell them where you want to go. they will annotate it in your excel file and even if the HR person changes, the replacement will know what you want. this is what i did. it worked out. contact them every six months or so, and more frequently closer to graduation. if you are near virginia, i would consider dropping by and saying hello with some notice obviously. if you want hawaii or monterey ca then that might be tough, but washington dc, west point, seattle might be available with persistence.

good luck and stay army strong!

toby keith fan

The down sides to doing it after include:
- longer away from family
- 2-3 months that you won't do any dentistry
- if the specialty you get selected for has an opening the summer you graduate you can not start until the following summer after graduation
- if you do it before dental school you will have some extra cash to help out with school
- gives you a military foundation so that if you decide to go on externships with the military during school you know what you are doing - and have uniform, etc...

It all depends on what your goals are.
 
I was just wondering if you know if AEGD is required by the Army or just highly recommend because what I have read it all states that I have to the AEGD no matter what.
 
The down sides to doing it after include:
- longer away from family
- 2-3 months that you won't do any dentistry
- if the specialty you get selected for has an opening the summer you graduate you can not start until the following summer after graduation
- if you do it before dental school you will have some extra cash to help out with school
- gives you a military foundation so that if you decide to go on externships with the military during school you know what you are doing - and have uniform, etc...

It all depends on what your goals are.
I have just found out that my school has added a summer extension for all classes till june 19 or so - approximately one week after obc generally starts. So that means I won't be able to do OBC after 2nd year like I had planned.

Can you still be accepted to a specialty program (2 yr aegd and normal specialties) if you have not done OBC before graduating, with the only catch being that you would start 1 year later?

If you do OBC after graduation, how does the timing work? Let say I graduate May 10, do I get sent to TDY somewhere before I start OBC in mid June - would I be doing any dentistry during this time? After OBC would they send me directly to my 1 yr AEGD/duty station?

Can you still do internships in the summer if you have not done OBC? Are the dates of these something you can set with the particular post? How would you go about applying for these, would you go through a case officer that you are assigned when you accept the scholarship?
 
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I have just found out that my school has added a summer extension for all classes till june 19 or so - approximately one week after obc generally starts. So that means I won't be able to do OBC after 2nd year like I had planned.

Can you still be accepted to a specialty program (2 yr aegd and normal specialties) if you have not done OBC before graduating, with the only catch being that you would start 1 year later?

If you do OBC after graduation, how does the timing work? Let say I graduate May 10, do I get sent to TDY somewhere before I start OBC in mid June - would I be doing any dentistry during this time? After OBC would they send me directly to my 1 yr AEGD/duty station?

Can you still do internships in the summer if you have not done OBC? Are the dates of these something you can set with the particular post? How would you go about applying for these, would you go through a case officer that you are assigned when you accept the scholarship?

Yes you can still apply for a program if you haven't done OBC and you just would work somewhere for 1 year until the program starts.

Yes you can do an externship/TDY without having done OBC.

If you haven't done OBC you will graduate, and not report until OBC starts (1st part of July). You also will not get paid until OBC. You will not be doing dentistry. More than likely you will still be waiting for your license to arrive.

Once OBC is completed you will then proceed to the base you are stationed.

the externships/TDY can be done at any time in the year. Contact Roxanne Flores to coordinate a time.
[email protected]
 
If you haven't done OBC you will graduate, and not report until OBC starts (1st part of July). You also will not get paid until OBC. You will not be doing dentistry. More than likely you will still be waiting for your license to arrive.
Would I be doing the normal 6 week HPSP-OBLC or would I be doing the 9 week Dental officers OBLC? I'd assume I would be signing up for that online on the website when the time comes?


And a side question - after I accept the scholarship, do I get assigned a case officer or a contact person so I can ask about AEGD applications, initial postings, etc?
 
Would I be doing the normal 6 week HPSP-OBLC or would I be doing the 9 week Dental officers OBLC? I'd assume I would be signing up for that online on the website when the time comes?


And a side question - after I accept the scholarship, do I get assigned a case officer or a contact person so I can ask about AEGD applications, initial postings, etc?

6 week OBLC is only for before/during school. Otherwise it is the regular longer one.

You don't have a case manager. Hopefully you have a good recruiter at the school you go to that can help you out. There is also Roxanne Flores that helps all HPSP. Other than that you coordinate communnication for assignments directly with human resources.
 
krmower,

I was told by my recruiter that we don't get teh bonus untill we finsh the OBC, is that true? When is the OBC held in the spring summer, in order to do it before school? Need that bonus for living exspenses.

Thanks for your response.
 
krmower,

I was told by my recruiter that we don't get teh bonus untill we finsh the OBC, is that true? When is the OBC held in the spring summer, in order to do it before school? Need that bonus for living exspenses.

Thanks for your response.

I'm not sure. My guess is that it comes after school has started. However it does come in the 3 installments. If you do OBC before school you will have some cash from that that you can use.
 
Generally do 63A general dentists get to make dentures, RPDs, bridge, do root canals etc? Or are general dentists usually doing exams , restorative, operative cases?
 
Generally do 63A general dentists get to make dentures, RPDs, bridge, do root canals etc? Or are general dentists usually doing exams , restorative, operative cases?

Not a lot of full dentures in the Army. Rpd's and bridges yes. However as with all things depends on location. But the last 3 bases I've been assigned the general dentists have been able to.
 
Not a lot of full dentures in the Army. Rpd's and bridges yes. However as with all things depends on location. But the last 3 bases I've been assigned the general dentists have been able to.

Thanks krmower, full of information!
 
At my post the 63As do about 85% operative and 10% exams. The other 5% is various pros, OS, and endo. We are pretty much allowed to do whatever we want, except for ortho, and no one has ever told me "you can't do that." One of the guys in my clinic has placed a few implants under the supervision of the periodontist. The endodontist in my clinic has also placed a few implants.

In my three years on active duty, I have only seen about 3 or 4 active duty patients that had a full denture and only a few more with a partial. If they want a new one I send them to the prosthodontist. If you like doing dentures you might ask the prosthodontist at your post to send some your way, I'm sure he or she wouldn't mind.

It is difficult to do pros for many of the patients because they are constantly moving around, either deploying or changing posts or getting out of the army. It on average takes about 3 months to do a crown in the army due to being booked out 6 weeks with patients and a 4-6 week lab turn around time.

I am starting endo residency this summer, so I try to do all the endo I can. But even trying to do as much as I can I probably average 2-3 cases per month. Some posts allow 63As to take a half day or full day a week to schedule whatever their heart desires, but my post is short on dentists so we don't have that option.
 
There are a lot of factors that affect what type of work a 63A is doing. Where the base is located and how many troops it supports and what the troops are doing can make or break what you are doing. If your base is deploying and redeploying thousands of troops a month, you will be busy doing exams and restorative procedures. If you are on tiny base and it doesn't deploy troops very often you could do a whole range of dentistry. Where do you think most 63A's are going? Where the need is the greatest. Some find their way to those small bases.

When things calm down I try my hardest to allow the 63A's to schedule a day a week to book their own procedures (prostho, endo, surgery, etc.) For the most part however, their time is spent mostly doing exams, restorative, and sick call. Unfortunately the need for these procedures are the highest.

If you work hard and communicate with your commander and clinic chief I am sure they will do what they can to allow you a day or two a week to do different procedures.

Just understand 63A's are credentialed to do certain procedures. Placing implants is not one of them. If you do a 1 year AEGD you get more credentials, if you do a 2 year AEGD your credentials are even higher. (right now only periodontist and oral surgeons are credentialed to place implants) If you want additional credentials you have to perform so many supervised procedures then apply for those additional procedures to be added to your credentials. If you perform certain procedures outside of your credentials and something goes wrong....watch out!
 
There are a lot of factors that affect what type of work a 63A is doing. Where the base is located and how many troops it supports and what the troops are doing can make or break what you are doing. If your base is deploying and redeploying thousands of troops a month, you will be busy doing exams and restorative procedures. If you are on tiny base and it doesn't deploy troops very often you could do a whole range of dentistry. Where do you think most 63A's are going? Where the need is the greatest. Some find their way to those small bases.

When things calm down I try my hardest to allow the 63A's to schedule a day a week to book their own procedures (prostho, endo, surgery, etc.) For the most part however, their time is spent mostly doing exams, restorative, and sick call. Unfortunately the need for these procedures are the highest.

If you work hard and communicate with your commander and clinic chief I am sure they will do what they can to allow you a day or two a week to do different procedures.

Just understand 63A's are credentialed to do certain procedures. Placing implants is not one of them. If you do a 1 year AEGD you get more credentials, if you do a 2 year AEGD your credentials are even higher. (right now only periodontist and oral surgeons are credentialed to place implants) If you want additional credentials you have to perform so many supervised procedures then apply for those additional procedures to be added to your credentials. If you perform certain procedures outside of your credentials and something goes wrong....watch out!


I understand how the credentialling works, as well as needs of the Army. One can be credentialled to do procedures under supervision, and like I said the two guys in my clinic were placing them under the supervision of the periodontist. I wasn't complaining and I'm not bitter. I'm happy where I am, I was just telling it how it is for me. I'm sure that 63As at other posts are in very different situations, I can only comment on what it is like for me and the other 63As at the two posts I have been stationed at.

I feel that the HPSP students wonder what it is actually like to be in the Army, what their days will be like, not just what the recruiter tells them it will be like. I wish I had known of this forum or an active duty dentist while I was HPSP, all I had to go on was what the recruiters told me. A lot of the posts on here are very vague and say things like 63As do operative, pros, OS, and endo. Which is true, but statements like those don't tell the reader how much of each they will likely be doing and other specific details which I was trying to fill in.
 
I understand how the credentialling works, as well as needs of the Army. One can be credentialled to do procedures under supervision, and like I said the two guys in my clinic were placing them under the supervision of the periodontist. I wasn't complaining and I'm not bitter. I'm happy where I am, I was just telling it how it is for me. I'm sure that 63As at other posts are in very different situations, I can only comment on what it is like for me and the other 63As at the two posts I have been stationed at.

I feel that the HPSP students wonder what it is actually like to be in the Army, what their days will be like, not just what the recruiter tells them it will be like. I wish I had known of this forum or an active duty dentist while I was HPSP, all I had to go on was what the recruiters told me. A lot of the posts on here are very vague and say things like 63As do operative, pros, OS, and endo. Which is true, but statements like those don't tell the reader how much of each they will likely be doing and other specific details which I was trying to fill in.

Hawk, can you describe your typical day and possibly those of general dentists (im assumng u're a specailist or comprehensive)? Please the more detail the better for anyone applying and has these specific questions. thanks
 
Hawk, can you describe your typical day and possibly those of general dentists (im assumng u're a specailist or comprehensive)? Please the more detail the better for anyone applying and has these specific questions. thanks

I'm actually a general dentist, I did the 1 year AEGD a couple years ago and have been in the Army about 3 years. My typical day consists of four 90 minute operative appointments and two 60 minute operative appointments. So in an 8 hour day I see 6 patients, we start at 0730 and end at 1630. Most of our patients have a lot of dental needs, so I try to get as much done at each appointment as possible. Sometimes it may be one very large restoration, or 3-5 small ones.

Usually one day a week I do "sick call and exams" which consists of treating emergency patients in the morning and annual exams all afternoon. The emergencies range from pulpectomies (thats where I get all the endo I do) and OS, to operative from lost/broken fillings or fractures from trauma.

I start endo residency this summer, so I try to do as much endo as I can, but probably only do 2-3 cases per month. My clinic has an endodontist to help mentor me and answer any questions I have, as well as two state of the art endo operatories. They have rotary motors, apex locators, microscopes, Obtura, and System B all built into the operatories. The endodontist normally uses one of the operatories, and I use the other when I have an endo patient. I usually book endo patients for 2 hours, which gives me enough time to do both endo and build up for an easy tooth, or just the endo for a tough tooth.

I was doing a pros case or two per month, but I have stopped prepping teeth since I won't be able to deliver the crowns that I would prep at this point. There are two prosthodontists in my clinic as well as a full service lab and lab tech, so if I ever had a question there was someone to turn to. We also have a periodontist in our clinic, and while I haven't done any perio sugeries since the AEGD, he is great to have handy for consults.

The pros and perio guys schedule their patients as they see fit, if a patient needs one, two, three or four hours, they schedule them so. The endodontist books every patient for two hours, except surgeries which he books for four hours.

The other general and comprehensive dentists are scheduled the same way I am. Most of the other general and comprehensive dentists do less pros and endo than I do, one does more OS than I do. They seem to pretty much only do operative and sick call/exams, while I have tried as much as I can to do a variety of things. I have stayed in touch with the other dentists from my AEGD and it sounds like their situations are fairly similar to where I am at. I think I am the only one left out of 8 residents who hasn't been sent overseas yet, one other guy I'm not sure about though.

I would have to say that the job is pretty low stress, I normally have plenty of time for each patient and don't have to worry about the clock or squeezing in hygiene checks. I think the specialists feel the same way also. I work in a private practice a few days a month and can tell you that private practice is much more stressful and hurried. The hygienists are always needing hygiene checks and it seems like I never have enough time per patient. In private practice I see anywhere from 10-15 patients in addition to hygiene checks, so by the end of the day I am beat. Most of my private practice patients only need one or two fillings, so I see a lot more patients. I also treat a lot of kids, which can be either very fun or very stressful depending on how they behave.

I hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions.
 
I'm actually a general dentist, I did the 1 year AEGD a couple years ago and have been in the Army about 3 years. My typical day consists of four 90 minute operative appointments and two 60 minute operative appointments. So in an 8 hour day I see 6 patients, we start at 0730 and end at 1630. Most of our patients have a lot of dental needs, so I try to get as much done at each appointment as possible. Sometimes it may be one very large restoration, or 3-5 small ones.

Usually one day a week I do "sick call and exams" which consists of treating emergency patients in the morning and annual exams all afternoon. The emergencies range from pulpectomies (thats where I get all the endo I do) and OS, to operative from lost/broken fillings or fractures from trauma.

I start endo residency this summer, so I try to do as much endo as I can, but probably only do 2-3 cases per month. My clinic has an endodontist to help mentor me and answer any questions I have, as well as two state of the art endo operatories. They have rotary motors, apex locators, microscopes, Obtura, and System B all built into the operatories. The endodontist normally uses one of the operatories, and I use the other when I have an endo patient. I usually book endo patients for 2 hours, which gives me enough time to do both endo and build up for an easy tooth, or just the endo for a tough tooth.

I was doing a pros case or two per month, but I have stopped prepping teeth since I won't be able to deliver the crowns that I would prep at this point. There are two prosthodontists in my clinic as well as a full service lab and lab tech, so if I ever had a question there was someone to turn to. We also have a periodontist in our clinic, and while I haven't done any perio sugeries since the AEGD, he is great to have handy for consults.

The pros and perio guys schedule their patients as they see fit, if a patient needs one, two, three or four hours, they schedule them so. The endodontist books every patient for two hours, except surgeries which he books for four hours.

The other general and comprehensive dentists are scheduled the same way I am. Most of the other general and comprehensive dentists do less pros and endo than I do, one does more OS than I do. They seem to pretty much only do operative and sick call/exams, while I have tried as much as I can to do a variety of things. I have stayed in touch with the other dentists from my AEGD and it sounds like their situations are fairly similar to where I am at. I think I am the only one left out of 8 residents who hasn't been sent overseas yet, one other guy I'm not sure about though.

I would have to say that the job is pretty low stress, I normally have plenty of time for each patient and don't have to worry about the clock or squeezing in hygiene checks. I think the specialists feel the same way also. I work in a private practice a few days a month and can tell you that private practice is much more stressful and hurried. The hygienists are always needing hygiene checks and it seems like I never have enough time per patient. In private practice I see anywhere from 10-15 patients in addition to hygiene checks, so by the end of the day I am beat. Most of my private practice patients only need one or two fillings, so I see a lot more patients. I also treat a lot of kids, which can be either very fun or very stressful depending on how they behave.

I hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions.

Great post, I think others will benefit from this.

For anyone to answer, Is it normal for military dentists to moonlight or work at private practices on the weekend?

How does continuing education work? I'm assuming the army will send you off to their own CE courses but can you elect to participate in others that you want? On the same subject, are there any requirements (i.e. you must attend 5 CE courses per year?). Thanks all
 
Great post Hawk. I'm also interested in your work in a private practice. Do you work at night or on the weekends? Also, I've been tossing around the idea of doing the one or two year AEGD. Would you still recommend doing the 1 year over the 2 year AEGD. Finally in a completely unrelated question, what is the advantage of becoming a board certified general dentist?
 
Great post, I think others will benefit from this.

For anyone to answer, Is it normal for military dentists to moonlight or work at private practices on the weekend?

How does continuing education work? I'm assuming the army will send you off to their own CE courses but can you elect to participate in others that you want? On the same subject, are there any requirements (i.e. you must attend 5 CE courses per year?). Thanks all

A few military dentists work at civilian practices at my post. One is a COL, and three are CPTs. Most of us work two or three days a month, all for the same civilian practice. Normally we work on a day off, either vacation day or a military holiday such as president's day. The number that moonlight is small compared to the overall number of dentists on post.

The Army will send all of its dentists to a CE course each year. CPTs get sent to an Army course at a post that has one of its residency training programs. The specialists and comprehensive dentists get sent to their specialty's annual meeting or the ADA or AGD meetings. There are also some great online CE courses from the Army that are free for military. If you want to go to a specific course, you can ask, but it will probably not be on the Army's dime if they do let you go. I was allowed to take a day off to go to the Chicago Midwinter Mtg a couple years ago, in addition to the course the Army paid for me to go to. The only requirements are that you do enough CE to maintain your license, although they would like you to earn 30 hours per yer. Each post will have a CE program as well that will get you a few hours a year, we usually have a CE course every few months at my post.
 
Great post Hawk. I'm also interested in your work in a private practice. Do you work at night or on the weekends? Also, I've been tossing around the idea of doing the one or two year AEGD. Would you still recommend doing the 1 year over the 2 year AEGD. Finally in a completely unrelated question, what is the advantage of becoming a board certified general dentist?


I don't work any nights. I usually work two Saturdays a month, and I also work on a lot of the four day weekends that the military gets, such as President's Day.

I would base the AEGD decision on whether or not you want to specialize. If you don't want to specialize, do the 2 year, if you do want to specialize then do the 1 year. I don't know what stage of dental school you are in, but for in my case I didn't want to specialize until I did endo rotation at the very end of my junior year. Having done the AEGD helped me a lot in getting accepted into endo residency. If you have no desire to specialize, but think you might stay in the military for a career, then the 2 year is the way to go. If you plan to just put in your HPSP payback years then get out, you could go either route. The main advantage in my opinion of the 2 year is the $50k per year retention bonus it gives you if you stay in the Army beyond your HPSP payback. Both are great programs and you learn pretty much the same things in both, obviously the 2 year is goin to be a bit more in depth and give you a year more of specialist mentoring, but the 1 year will put you way ahead of your dental school classmates that go straight into private practice.

The advantage of being a board certified general dentist in the military is that you get board certification pay, which I believe is $3000 per year. In civilian practice it is something that you can put in your yellow page ad that 99% of the other general dentists can't. It is also something to strive for as a goal, very similar to the FAGD and MAGD that the AGD offers. It isn't easy to get, I think you have to be in practice several years and have over 500 hours of CE. The 2 year AEGD fulfills most of the CE hours (if not all), but if you do the 1 year it will take a long time to get the rest of the 500 hours.
 
Can a new army dentist get slots to airborn, air assault, or ranger school? Or are dentists considered too valuable to receive this kind of specialty training. If I do go the army rout I will most likely make it a career and would to know the chances of getting these types of slots.

Thanks
 
Can a new army dentist get slots to airborn, air assault, or ranger school? Or are dentists considered too valuable to receive this kind of specialty training. If I do go the army rout I will most likely make it a career and would to know the chances of getting these types of slots.

Thanks
Yes there are chances - ranger school is unlikely though. The expert field $edical badge is allowed for all dentists. Other badges will depend on location/Commander. If you want to do those schools you need to either get stationed where they are offered or get assigned to a combat unit where the Commanders arer more supportive.
 
Yes there are chances - ranger school is unlikely though. The expert field $edical badge is allowed for all dentists. Other badges will depend on location/Commander. If you want to do those schools you need to either get stationed where they are offered or get assigned to a combat unit where the Commanders arer more supportive.

If you are attached to an SF unit you can swing a slot to Ranger School, at least it has been done in the past.
 
Can a new army dentist get slots to airborn, air assault, or ranger school? Or are dentists considered too valuable to receive this kind of specialty training. If I do go the army rout I will most likely make it a career and would to know the chances of getting these types of slots.

Thanks


I've heard of several dentists going through air assault and airborn. It would definitely help to be stationed where the school is. A couple guys I know did the school right after their 1 year AEGD before they went to their next duty station. Being assigned to a special forces unit would probably also help, but there are probably only a couple special forces dental slots in the whole Army. If you are a special forces dentist dentist you could pretty much pick what residency you want and have an extremely high chance of getting in, nothing says "soldier first" like being assigned to a special forces unit and all the real Army training you would get from it. Dangerous job though, a couple years ago during a mission a helicopter that the SF dentist was in went down in a river, the dentist swam to shore but his dental assistant didn't make it.
 
i've gone thru about half the posts, and got some very good info.. im really interested in joining the military thru the HPSP program.. but i am feeling a bit skeptical of whether id even get accepted or not... i wanted to know what the chances are of getting accepted.. and what the whole application process consists of... i think id have some drawbacks on my application and wanted to know whether i shuld even bother applying... i have been accepted to a dental school already, my DAT was 19 AA, and overall GPA was 3.6 with a phyisical science major..

my major concerns are that i have been arrested when i was 17 while in hs.. my original charges were pretty bad (a felony) but after the whole court process it was dismissed and instead recieved a misdemeanor for disorderly conduct and that has been sealed from my records and does not show up on any background checks (although im sure the military would have access to it)... and recently I have been arrested again for assault charges (as a felony) because i got involved in a fight.. the thing is for my second arrest i was completely not at fault because i was actually trying to break up the fight and i guess out of confusion the victim pointed me out... i still have one more court date in june and from what my lawyer tells me the case will most likely be dismissed... and also when it comes to drug tests how does that whole process work, i have done it occasionally in high school.. but w/in the last 4 years very rarely, maybe 2-3 times at most... the past year have not touched anything.. would anything show up on tests? and shuld i admit to my past if it wouldnt show up.. i mean i am all for honesty but my app already would sound so horrible with the truth..

in all honesty my past has been my past.. i grew up in a pretty rough neighborhood and i guess you can say have been surrounded by bad influences my whole life.. i know none of that is an excuse, but i am definitely nothing like what i was anymore.. i have worked very hard to get to where i am now, and have completely let go of everything in my past.. my dream has always been to get my family out of these circumstances and i plan to do so... the military oppurtunity sounds like and ideal one for me, because i know life in the military will definitly solidfy my want to change and become a better person.. any feedback as to my chances of getting accepted will be greatly appreciated.. thanx
 
i've gone thru about half the posts, and got some very good info.. im really interested in joining the military thru the HPSP program.. but i am feeling a bit skeptical of whether id even get accepted or not... i wanted to know what the chances are of getting accepted.. and what the whole application process consists of... i think id have some drawbacks on my application and wanted to know whether i shuld even bother applying... i have been accepted to a dental school already, my DAT was 19 AA, and overall GPA was 3.6 with a phyisical science major..

my major concerns are that i have been arrested when i was 17 while in hs.. my original charges were pretty bad (a felony) but after the whole court process it was dismissed and instead recieved a misdemeanor for disorderly conduct and that has been sealed from my records and does not show up on any background checks (although im sure the military would have access to it)... and recently I have been arrested again for assault charges (as a felony) because i got involved in a fight.. the thing is for my second arrest i was completely not at fault because i was actually trying to break up the fight and i guess out of confusion the victim pointed me out... i still have one more court date in june and from what my lawyer tells me the case will most likely be dismissed... and also when it comes to drug tests how does that whole process work, i have done it occasionally in high school.. but w/in the last 4 years very rarely, maybe 2-3 times at most... the past year have not touched anything.. would anything show up on tests? and shuld i admit to my past if it wouldnt show up.. i mean i am all for honesty but my app already would sound so horrible with the truth..

in all honesty my past has been my past.. i grew up in a pretty rough neighborhood and i guess you can say have been surrounded by bad influences my whole life.. i know none of that is an excuse, but i am definitely nothing like what i was anymore.. i have worked very hard to get to where i am now, and have completely let go of everything in my past.. my dream has always been to get my family out of these circumstances and i plan to do so... the military oppurtunity sounds like and ideal one for me, because i know life in the military will definitly solidfy my want to change and become a better person.. any feedback as to my chances of getting accepted will be greatly appreciated.. thanx

You have a chance in the Army. The best way to start is to ask the recruiter. If they think it might go through you will have a chance as part of the application to explain any arrests. It will then be up to the selection board. It might be best to wait until you've had your day in court.
The army will continue to give scholarships out through the summer.
 
Hawk (or anyone else in his position) -
Can you tell me about your career and specializing choice? I am getting ready to go into clinic here in a couple of months and am thinking about a couple specialties I wouldn't mind going into (OMS or endo) but don't think I can be competitive right out of school (86 on boards and 36ish in my class currently not to mention I haven't done OBLC yet) and feel I may need a few years of time in service to get selected. I am wondering when and why you waited to apply? Was it by choice or necessity? Did your AEGD help in the selection process? Thanks in advance!
 
Hawk (or anyone else in his position) -
Can you tell me about your career and specializing choice? I am getting ready to go into clinic here in a couple of months and am thinking about a couple specialties I wouldn't mind going into (OMS or endo) but don't think I can be competitive right out of school (86 on boards and 36ish in my class currently not to mention I haven't done OBLC yet) and feel I may need a few years of time in service to get selected. I am wondering when and why you waited to apply? Was it by choice or necessity? Did your AEGD help in the selection process? Thanks in advance!

Not having done OBLC does not affect your competativeness at all. It only makes it so you may not be able to get an early start. Endo will be very difficult to get right out of school. That does tend to be one that you have to have been in a few years to get right off the bat. Oral surgery you could get picked up for out of school. It never hurts to throw your hat in for any specialty you are interested in. Going through the 1 yr AEGD can help to get you picked up, plus it adds to the skills and procedures you can do in your clinic.
 
Hawk (or anyone else in his position) -
Can you tell me about your career and specializing choice? I am getting ready to go into clinic here in a couple of months and am thinking about a couple specialties I wouldn't mind going into (OMS or endo) but don't think I can be competitive right out of school (86 on boards and 36ish in my class currently not to mention I haven't done OBLC yet) and feel I may need a few years of time in service to get selected. I am wondering when and why you waited to apply? Was it by choice or necessity? Did your AEGD help in the selection process? Thanks in advance!

I was in a similar situation coming out of school that you are in, I was right in the middle of my class for class rank and had a 90 on boards. I applied three years in a row for endo and made the alternate list the last two. I applied straight out of school the first time, but I think they threw my application in the trash because they told us at OBLC that no one applied to endo straight out of school that year. The next two years I was on the alternate list, but they don't tell you where you rank on the list. I didn't apply to the Army program this year because I was already accepted into civilian programs. I had interview offers at about 15 programs, went to 11 of them. I was accepted to 6 programs, including some the most highly regarded and competitive ones. So I would say that endo is very competitive in the Army. I did an endo research project in school, the 1 year AEGD, and an endo externship and couldn't get in on three tries. I would have preferred to do the army endo residency, but I didn't want to apply this year and then back out on my commitment to the civilian program. As far as OS, everyone I know that has applied has been accepted, I know several people from OBLC or the AEGD that applied and all got in, some were straight out of school, others were after the AEGD. One guy didn't get into endo but applied for OS the next year and got into OS.

The AEGD made me more competitive for the civilian programs for sure. Most of the Army specialty applicants have also done the AEGD, so it didn't help me there, but it would have hurt me if I hadn't done it. The AEGD is also a good place to figure out if you want to do a certain specialty or not, as you will do a lot tougher cases than you did in school. In my AEGD we spent about 6 weeks on OS rotations and all we did was take out impacted thirds and assist in the OR, so you find quickly if you want to do that for the rest of your dental career. In endo we were able to do lots of molars, retreats, and apicos. I learned that the best way to treat kids is when they are sedated:)

So I would agree with krmower that OS is easier to get into, but I don't have any real facts to support my opinion. It just seems easier to get into OS, but maybe I think that cuz I didn't get into endo. They don't allow you to apply to a second program if you apply to OS, so you can't apply to both and then see which you get into. Good luck.
 
Thanks for the response! And congrats on getting into endo! So are you now getting out of the Army and that is why you applied to the civilian programs?
 
I understand how the credentialling works, as well as needs of the Army. One can be credentialled to do procedures under supervision, and like I said the two guys in my clinic were placing them under the supervision of the periodontist. I wasn't complaining and I'm not bitter. I'm happy where I am, I was just telling it how it is for me. I'm sure that 63As at other posts are in very different situations, I can only comment on what it is like for me and the other 63As at the two posts I have been stationed at.

I feel that the HPSP students wonder what it is actually like to be in the Army, what their days will be like, not just what the recruiter tells them it will be like. I wish I had known of this forum or an active duty dentist while I was HPSP, all I had to go on was what the recruiters told me. A lot of the posts on here are very vague and say things like 63As do operative, pros, OS, and endo. Which is true, but statements like those don't tell the reader how much of each they will likely be doing and other specific details which I was trying to fill in.

I agree with you Hawk 100%. Most of the recruiters have no clue what life in the Army Dental Corp is like, do not take their word for it. This forum is perfect to ask Army dentists what it is like.

We need to get the truth out there. I think your experience represents what 63A's are doing. Thanks for sharing. Most 63A's I have met are going into residency or getting out after 3 or 4 years of service.

Endo only accepts 8-9 a year. Most of those that get in have done the AEGD 1 year and most have deployed and have been in the Army 2-3 years already. I think Endo and Ortho are the most competitive residencies to get into.

PS. My post was not intended to be inflammatory about credentials, just informational. Good luck with Endo!
 
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Hi I have a question about being assigned to bases. Do we automatically get assigned into a unit (i.e. battalion, brigade, or company) at the specific base we get stationed at?

Also on deployment, do dentists get deployed with their units or are they just randomly assigned to support an existing unit somewhere else?
 
Hi I have a question about being assigned to bases. Do we automatically get assigned into a unit (i.e. battalion, brigade, or company) at the specific base we get stationed at?

Also on deployment, do dentists get deployed with their units or are they just randomly assigned to support an existing unit somewhere else?

There are 2 types of units you can get assigned to:

1. Dental Activity (DENTAC) what we call a TDA assignment
2. Brigade, Regiment, or Special Forces Group what we call a TOE assignment.

When you get your orders you will be assigned to either a DENTAC at the base or a Brigade. The DENTAC is commanded by a Colonel who is a dentist and you will be assigned to a dental clinic that is usually commanded by a Colonel or Lieutenant Colonel who is also a dentist. You work the clinic hours and do not have to go to field training. This is usually a 3-4 year assignment. The DENTAC sends you to one CE course a year. (More if funds are available)

As a Brigade dentist you are assigned to a medical company that is run by a Captain (not a dentist) that is under a Support Battalion commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel (not a dentist) that supports a Brigade commanded by a Colonel (not a dentist). You are obligated to follow the orders by your unit and you deploy and go to field training as required by the unit. Your boss is a Captain (Usually has no clue what to do) Basically you are the only dentist for the brigade (4500 troops) If your unit deploys for 1 year you go with them. If they deploy 15 months you go. You work in the dental clinic, but you are not a DENTAC dentist (this can be bad or good). Usually the DENTAC does not have to give you an assistant to work with since they don't own you, but most places I have been to have given them a civilian assistant to help. You have 1 dental tech assigned to your company, hopefully she or he is knowledgeable and capable to work if he or she is good then your life is easy...if she or he is lazy, gets in trouble, your life can be hell. When you deploy or go to the field you take mobile dental equipment and supplies that your dental tech maintains (good or bad). Bottom line...this is a tough job since no one knows your job but you (and you barely know it since you are new to the Army.) It can be hard to get supplies and your equipment fixed or ordered right since no one else in your unit has knowledge about dental stuff. This is usually a 2-3 year assignment with hopefully one deployment. This nice thing is if the unit has a day off you get it off too. This can be as much as 1 day a month extra. Don't quote me, but we have about 45 brigade dentist to about 300 captain DENTAC dentists. Most of the brigade dentist have done a one year AEGD.

This means I want to be a DENTAC dentist right? I don't have to deploy right? Just wait. We have a couple of TOE Dental Companies out there that deploy to Iraq and they are staffed and supported by Professional Fillers (PROFIS) dentists. Where do we get PROFIS dentists? Well from the DENTAC of course. The good thing about a TOE Dental Company it is commanded by a Colonel who is a dentist. The whole unit is dentists and dental techs. Some of the dental companies also deploy specialists. A DENTAC commander will get an assignment to deploy 2 or 3 of his DENTAC dentist as PROFIS to support these TOE dental companies. He than asks his DENTAC for any volunteers to go as PROFIS to help these dental companies. These Dental Companies set up and run clinics in Iraq. The good thing about a PROFIS deployment they are 6 months only. When you are done you come back home and start working in the clinic in the DENTAC again. There is a TOE dental company in Germany that you can be assigned to that is a 3 year assignment. Other PROFIS slots are in a Combat Support Hospital (CSH) what we call a "CASH" we no longer have a "MASH" Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MSH). There is usually 1 or 2 TOE Dental Companies in Iraq at a time. (Each has 20-40 dentists)

From my experience just because you are assigned to a DENTAC does not mean you are safe from deployment. As I said before you can be used as a PROFIS dentist at any time. Most commanders ask for volunteers first to deploy if no one volunteers than they start down a list (somehow your name is at the top in bold letters). I have also seen the DENTAC commander change your assignment over to be a TOE dentist. This change causes you to have a 1 year obligation with the unit you are assigned to. This is done because of the shortage of dentist we have and to prevent having to move someone from another state to fill that TOE position. Usually the TOE dentist switches into the DENTAC when he gets home from a deployment and a new DENTAC dentist is put into the newly vacant TOE dentist place. This prevents TOE dentists from deploying twice.

So when you are approached by your recruiter or assignments officer you should be able to ask if your assignment will be a TDA (DENTAC) or TOE Each base has both! The priority of assignments to fill is TOE than overseas (ie. Korea, Germany) than TDA.
 
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Combatdentist,

A little confusing for a newbie hpsp student but helpful nonetheless.

Does this mean we have no control being picked up by dentac or brigade (TOE)?

I don't think I would especially mind a 6 month deployment in those profis positions but the whole brigade dentist thing sounds pretty terrible. That's definitely something the recruiter failed to mention.

So when we pick where to go after we gradate from dental school, how are we supposed to know if we get put into dentac or one of those brigade slots? Is it random or do you have to volunteer for it?
 
Combatdentist,

A little confusing for a newbie hpsp student but helpful nonetheless.

Does this mean we have no control being picked up by dentac or brigade (TOE)?

I don't think I would especially mind a 6 month deployment in those profis positions but the whole brigade dentist thing sounds pretty terrible. That's definitely something the recruiter failed to mention.

So when we pick where to go after we gradate from dental school, how are we supposed to know if we get put into dentac or one of those brigade slots? Is it random or do you have to volunteer for it?


I hope no one minds if I field this question, I can give you the answer to this question for Ft Riley and my experience, Combatdentist can probably give you a broader Army wide answer. The odds of a new grad going straight into a brigade slot are very low. The Army would like residency trained or someone with at least a year or two of experience in brigade slots, as they will likely deploy and be in a one man clinic. The profis deployment slots are more likely to be with a dental company with multilple dentists, so a recent grad will have someone else to help them out if needed. So if you are not doing an AEGD right out of school, you will almost certainly be assigned to dentac. However, there are fewer AEGD grads now that the AEGD no longer counts as a payback year, so what I have seen at Ft Riley is that since we don't have any AEGD grads to put into the brigade slots, the slots are being filled with people with a year or two of experience. If you don't get assigned to a brigade when you get to your first duty station, and you decide you never want to be assigned to a brigade, you can volunteer for a six month deployment. That way you get your deployment out of the way, and it is a short one, and you no longer have to worry about being assigned to a brigade. The Dencom philosophy is to deploy every dentist once before deploying anyone twice, so I know several people who have volunteered for six month deployments to avoid the risk of being placed in a brigade slot and deploying for 12-15 months and possibly being stoplossed.
 
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Does anyone know if when you are done fulfilling your contract (HPSP) - if this affects your chances of getting into a non-military residency program?
 
I hope no one minds if I field this question, I can give you the answer to this question for Ft Riley and my experience, Combatdentist can probably give you a broader Army wide answer. The odds of a new grad going straight into a brigade slot are very low. The Army would like residency trained or someone with at least a year or two of experience in brigade slots, as they will likely deploy and be in a one man clinic. The profis deployment slots are more likely to be with a dental company with multilple dentists, so a recent grad will have someone else to help them out if needed. So if you are not doing an AEGD right out of school, you will almost certainly be assigned to dentac. However, there are fewer AEGD grads now that the AEGD no longer counts as a payback year, so what I have seen at Ft Riley is that since we don't have any AEGD grads to put into the brigade slots, the slots are being filled with people with a year or two of experience. If you don't get assigned to a brigade when you get to your first duty station, and you decide you never want to be assigned to a brigade, you can volunteer for a six month deployment. That way you get your deployment out of the way, and it is a short one, and you no longer have to worry about being assigned to a brigade. The Dencom philosophy is to deploy every dentist once before deploying anyone twice, so I know several people who have volunteered for six month deployments to avoid the risk of being placed in a brigade slot and deploying for 12-15 months and possibly being stoplossed.

Thanks that helps a lot!

I will probably look forward to volunteering the 6 months and knowing exactly when/where I will get deployed instead of having to be surprised one day.
 
How soon after the board meets will one find out about the scholarship?
 
Does anyone know if when you are done fulfilling your contract (HPSP) - if this affects your chances of getting into a non-military residency program?

Having experience in the military greatly improves your chances of getting into a civilian residency. The Army is a great resume builder, as you will have to do a lot of little things that you can put on your resume, such as being the HIPAA or radiation protection officer for your clinic. Also military dentists are typically thought of as being polite and respectful, which are good qualities for a resident. Plus you will have served your country and gained several years of experience doing so. There are a lot of prior military dentists in dental schools, and they typically like to have prior military residents.
 
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