Ask any questions to a Navy Dentist!

[NAVY DDS 2010]

Thanks for all the information. Obviously, since you're doing the program, you're going to know more than people who know nothing about it....So I'm not sure why you got so worked up about everything, but thanks for answering regardless.

LOL at the fact that you think I need to reconsider dental school because I didn't have time ONE DAY to read through an entire thread

I am not worked up about anything. You just came across as lazy. In the amount of time it took me to type up the answers to your questions, you could have read this thread and maybe a couple others and gotten your answers and more info that would helped spur or deter your interest. So, basically, it came down to you wasting your tme or someone else wasting their time to get the answers for you. Anywhere in any forum whether it be on SDN or another forum, always do a search for the answer first. Most likely, for general questions as yours were, you can be pretty sure the questions have been asked many times before. We don't mind, but we will give a little flack to those as yourself who openly state they 'don't have the time.' You have the time whether it be today or tomorrow or next week. You chose to allow someone else to do your grunt work.

Now as far as my comment about reconsidering d-school, no where did you state you didn't have time for ONE DAY. You said you didn't have time. So, that can be interpreted many ways. Since this thread has under 400 posts, it really doesn't take that long to skim through it. If you don't have less than 10 minutes to skim through a forum, then yes, I will tell you to reconsider d-school again. if you cannot make a sacrifice of 10 minutes to get info that seems to be important for you, then can you make the sacrifices needed in d-school? You probably can, otherwise you wouldn't have been accepted/or applying to d-school. In that case, don't be lazy and make others do your work for you when the work has already been done many times before and all that is needed is a little footwork!

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[MTD52]

Now as far as my comment about reconsidering d-school, no where did you state you didn't have time for ONE DAY. You said you didn't have time. So, that can be interpreted many ways. Since this thread has under 400 posts, it really doesn't take that long to skim through it. If you don't have less than 10 minutes to skim through a forum, then yes, I will tell you to reconsider d-school again. if you cannot make a sacrifice of 10 minutes to get info that seems to be important for you, then can you make the sacrifices needed in d-school? You probably can, otherwise you wouldn't have been accepted/or applying to d-school. In that case, don't be lazy and make others do your work for you when the work has already been done many times before and all that is needed is a little footwork!

I said exactly that, that I didn't have a chance to read it, which means didn't have time. I was trying to keep this civil, but quite frankly, if you honestly think that I need to reconsider because of a stupid thread on a forum, you're an idiot. I really don't think you are, nor do I have any desire to argue though, and there's no need to continue that any further. Thanks for the information that you did give, it was very helpful.

 

[Herme]

A little off the current topic, but I've been "contingently selected" for the HPSP with the NAVY, and have now been accepted at Minnesota. So I have forwarded the HPSP offer with my MN Acceptance letter to my recruiter to proceed with "final selection" when the board meets. Since I've been contingently selected, is there still a chance I will not get the scholarship? Or is the final selection more of tying up the loose ends? I guess I'm just trying to figure out if I have the scholarship, or if I am still hoping they select me. Thanks!

 

[biggertooth]

I tried to find out from previous posts, but couldnt find an exact answer....

I will be starting dental school July 2010. Is it too late to apply for HSPS? Are all the scholarships taken already?

Thanks

 

[edyizme]

I wish we had someone on this thread like AFDDS for the Air Force to help answer all our questions.

Any current Navy dentists out there who can help us out? It'd be much appreciated!

 

[MTD52]

I wish we had someone on this thread like AFDDS for the Air Force to help answer all our questions.

Any current Navy dentists out there who can help us out? It'd be much appreciated!

I believe NAVY DDS 2010 is a Navy Dentist..

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

I believe NAVY DDS 2010 is a Navy Dentist..

No, I am not a Navy Dentist yet. My name is Navy DDS 2010 for a reason.

I have been in the Navy since 1998 and have intimate knowledge of certain things a military dentist does (more so on a carrier) as well as life as an officer in the Navy.

 

[edyizme]

NavyDDS2010:

Great, well, it sounds like you sort of have an insider's view on the Naval dental life even if you aren't one yet. Can you tell us all about what life is like on a carrier for a dentist? From talking to a former Navy engineer, he made it sound like the dentists and doctors live pretty chill lives compared to the other Naval officers on board (who work pretty much 24/7). Do you know what theirs hours of working are like (I hear it can be 6 days a week), what the working conditions are like, how many there are, and what there is to do when you aren't working?

Also, what's life on the carrier like in general in terms of living conditions, length of deployments, locations.

If you could give insight into any of those questions I think it'd be much appreciated! Thanks.

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

The dentists have the easiest job as far as officers go on a carrier - even when including the physicians. A typical day (at sea) on our carrier began any time before 0730am when they needed to be in the clinic. Before 0730, you took care of your regular morning duties. From 0730-0745 was muster. 0800 - 0830 was sweepers. The dentists would act like they were helping, but seriously, do you think they do - no. Most of the time they are just trying to wake up or have the last cup of coffee before they start working. 0830 to 1100 was morning clinic. What they did during their clinic hours depended on what they were scheduled for that day. They had a routine of who covered birth month recall patients on a given day to keep up with the yearly exams. Then, from 1100-1300 was lunch. From 1300-1700 was clinic. From 1700 to 1900 was dinner. From 1900-2030 was clinic. After that, they did whatever they wanted. Now, this was the schedule for Mon-Sat. Sunday, depending on the week (and who was the department head), you may or may not have seen patients. If patients were seen, it was from 1300-1700 only on Sun.

Dentists never stood watches unless they were working for their warfare device (SWDDO) (which this only lasted for a few months until they met their requirement.) Many nights were poker nights. Friday nights were movie nights along with what ever special food was served that night for snacks - usually pizza and fake beer. The dentists were always the first in line and first to get the good seats in the movie room. At times, they would be in their staterooms playing PS2 (or game systemt of choice.) At times, they would be found in one of 3 gyms. They also spent time watching the planes launch and trap. Overall, there really isn't a lot to do, but if you bring the entertainment on the ship, then you won't be too bored.

Now, as far as the working environment goes, the clinic rooms were smaller than you would see at a civilian clinic, but as compared to what I work in at dental school, they were about the same size or maybe a slight bit larger. So, if you have a tight clinic at school, then working in the clinic on a carrier won't be much of an adjustment. As far as number of dentist, there were 5. There were 3 general dentists, an oral surgeon and the department head who can be any dentist, but they do like to get prosths to go as well. We had one pros and one comp dentist department head while I was there. The tours of duty on a carrier are typically 2 years unless you ask for an extension.

Living conditions - the physicians and dentists had it easy. They shared 2 person staterooms with one bunk bed in it. They didn't have to share it with 5 others like I did. Now, I won't complain since the enlisted sleep in very tight 3 man high bunks with 20 to 200 people in a room.
They heads are never busy. You never have to stand in line to take a shower. You had to keep the rooms straightened, but you didn't have to cleen them. A couple times per week, the enlisted who were assigned to clean the staterooms would come by and pick up your laundry, so you didn't have to wash your own clothes if you didn't want to. ((***warning notice**** - using the ship's laundry was a crap shoot because not always did you get your own clothes back, so sometimes you had to swap clothes with others, or you just had to wear other's underwear instead of your own - j/k).

Tour of duty on a ship - 2 years usually. Length of deployment - 6 months plu all of the work-ups. How long you are out to sea depends when you transfer to the ship and what the military decides to do as far as your OPTEMPO goes. I happened to get to the ship at the worst time and was out at sea 27 of 37 months on the ship. On average, you can figure you will be out at sea 50-60% of the time to include work-ups and deployment while attached to the ship.

Carrier locations - San Diego, CA; Bremerton,WA; Everett,WA; Norfolk, VA and Yokosuka, Japan.

Hope that answers your questions.

NavyDDS2010:

Great, well, it sounds like you sort of have an insider's view on the Naval dental life even if you aren't one yet. Can you tell us all about what life is like on a carrier for a dentist? From talking to a former Navy engineer, he made it sound like the dentists and doctors live pretty chill lives compared to the other Naval officers on board (who work pretty much 24/7). Do you know what theirs hours of working are like (I hear it can be 6 days a week), what the working conditions are like, how many there are, and what there is to do when you aren't working?

Also, what's life on the carrier like in general in terms of living conditions, length of deployments, locations.

If you could give insight into any of those questions I think it'd be much appreciated! Thanks.

 

[MTD52]

No, I am not a Navy Dentist yet. My name is Navy DDS 2010 for a reason.

I have been in the Navy since 1998 and have intimate knowledge of certain things a military dentist does (more so on a carrier) as well as life as an officer in the Navy.

Ha, good point. Either way, you clearly know enough to contribute.

 

[Aceofspades]

I have a few questions about specializing post Navy

1. If you commissioned Oct 1st, will your separation date (after 4 years of service) terminate on that same Oct 1st? What if you do a AEGD/GPR and took the signing bonus. I know you will owe 4 years after the 1 year residency. Are these 4 years = 365 * 4 days or until Oct 1st regardless?
2. If you apply for residencies how will you interview if you are on active duty at the time? Do you have adequate leave to do so?
3. I heard you still receive all benefits on IRR, is this true? Can you use the GI Bill to pay for a dental residency tuition while on IRR?

 

[MTD52]

So it seems as though this has just been answered, but not directly, so I want to clarify. If you get this scholarship, when you do your active duty after dental school and are in the Navy, you're a dentist there, not just an office, correct?

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

So it seems as though this has just been answered, but not directly, so I want to clarify. If you get this scholarship, when you do your active duty after dental school and are in the Navy, you're a dentist there, not just an office, correct?

First of all, you are always an officer first and foremost. That means that fi there are duties at the station/base/ship you are stationed at that require any officer to do them, there is a chance you can be assigned to them. But, to answer your question, the military is not going to waste a precious resource like dentists and physicians and make them do other jobs for their primary duties (unless the job is actually part of your progression in getting higher in rank like becoming an administrator of some type). So, your primary job will be as a dentist especially at the junior ranks.

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

I have a few questions about specializing post Navy

1. If you commissioned Oct 1st, will your separation date (after 4 years of service) terminate on that same Oct 1st? What if you do a AEGD/GPR and took the signing bonus. I know you will owe 4 years after the 1 year residency. Are these 4 years = 365 * 4 days or until Oct 1st regardless?
2. If you apply for residencies how will you interview if you are on active duty at the time? Do you have adequate leave to do so?
3. I heard you still receive all benefits on IRR, is this true? Can you use the GI Bill to pay for a dental residency tuition while on IRR?

1. Your 4 years of of service payback will begin on the date you are placed on active duty right after graduation from dental school. So, your separation date can basically be right around 4 years after you have graduated from dental school. The date of Oct. 1st really has no significance in determining your separation from the military. That just happened to be the date you were commissioned and began receiving HPSP benefits.

2. Do know the exact answer to this, but knowing how the military usually works you shouldn't have a problem interviewing for a residency while on active duty. Now, as far as adequate leave, I am not sure exactly what you are meanign by this. This can be interpreted multiple ways.

3. IRR - you do NOT receive all benefits after getting off actie duty. You no longer have military health benefits. Here is a link that describes the IRR and talks about the few benefits you can enjoy while in the IRR.

http://www.usnca.org/19thsym/19thsymbriefs/irr/understanding_irr_nca07.ppt

As far as using the GI benefits to pay for dental residency tuition, I have heard people have done this. That is just 2nd hand info, so take it forth what it is worth. The only way to get a definite answer is from the folks at the VA and even then you may get a different answer from each person you talk to.

 

[MTD52]

First of all, you are always an officer first and foremost. That means that fi there are duties at the station/base/ship you are stationed at that require any officer to do them, there is a chance you can be assigned to them. But, to answer your question, the military is not going to waste a precious resource like dentists and physicians and make them do other jobs for their primary duties (unless the job is actually part of your progression in getting higher in rank like becoming an administrator of some type). So, your primary job will be as a dentist especially at the junior ranks.

Thanks a lot for the information.

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

Thanks a lot for the information.

Let me make an ammendment to what I said. The duties I was referrign to as an officer and that you could be assigned to the role that any officer could fill was referring to secondary duties like standing watches, CACO (casualty assistance calls officer) which is the officer who informs the family of the loss of a loved one, assisting with death benefits, etc., and any other officer type roles which officer do along with their primary duties.

 

[JaySea]

My recruiter told me that dentists are only on carriers and amphibs. Has anyone ever been on an amphib? I want to go with the Marines when I go on operational tour.

I was on the USS Wasp when I was a dental tech (I'm now an E7/CPO senior dental student in the HSCP). It was an amphibious assault ship and you could get both surface and airwarfare qualified which helps with advancement and gives you a nice shinny ship and/or wings for your uniform.

As far as dentistry on it... I worked with my doc as an expanded functions tech and we did root canals, simple/impacted wisdom teeth removal, crowns (not a lot though), and tons of fillings. We did a lot of "WFT's" which is navy lingo equivalents to 5 surface posterior amalgams (MODFL) and stands for "whole f***ing tooth". They were even used for final restorations on root canal treated teeth; or until the shipmate got to a shore command and had it re-treatment planned for a crown.

There was a green side and a blue side; the green side was for the marines and was only active when we deployed. When we deployed we'd get a fmf dentist (navy dentist that trained with the marines and wore cammies) with his own assistant. Reason being is because we'd get about ~1,200 marines versus the ~1000 sailorsa we had to treat

 

[JSQUARED]

I have a few questions about specializing post Navy

1. If you commissioned Oct 1st, will your separation date (after 4 years of service) terminate on that same Oct 1st? What if you do a AEGD/GPR and took the signing bonus. I know you will owe 4 years after the 1 year residency. Are these 4 years = 365 * 4 days or until Oct 1st regardless?
2. If you apply for residencies how will you interview if you are on active duty at the time? Do you have adequate leave to do so?
3. I heard you still receive all benefits on IRR, is this true? Can you use the GI Bill to pay for a dental residency tuition while on IRR?

1) How are you commissioned Oct 1st? Are you a direct accession?
2) You will have adequate leave i you save enough up to use for your interviews.
3) You receive commissary and base privileges while on the IRR and you are able to use the MGIB or Post 9/11 GI Bill for Residency.
I get 2152/month for E5 BAH, 7000/semester tuition, and 1000/yr for books.

I am also doing the Reserves for 2 yrs which pays 25K/yr (17,800 after taxes) plus 450/month of drill pay. If you sign up within 6 months of getting off of active duty you get a 2 yr non deployable waiver. You can sign up for 3 yrs for a 75K bonus, but you may be activated your 3rd yr.

 

[dheav005]

NavyDDS2010:

Great, well, it sounds like you sort of have an insider's view on the Naval dental life even if you aren't one yet. Can you tell us all about what life is like on a carrier for a dentist? From talking to a former Navy engineer, he made it sound like the dentists and doctors live pretty chill lives compared to the other Naval officers on board (who work pretty much 24/7). Do you know what theirs hours of working are like (I hear it can be 6 days a week), what the working conditions are like, how many there are, and what there is to do when you aren't working?

Also, what's life on the carrier like in general in terms of living conditions, length of deployments, locations.

If you could give insight into any of those questions I think it'd be much appreciated! Thanks.

since there is a nor'easter blowing outside and i am stuck on the ship today for duty, i suppose i have plenty of time to flesh out a little of NAVY DDS's response to your questions about carrier life for a dental officer.

first, you will come to notice your place as a second-class officer. once the line guys see the staff corps insignia on your collar, you will be treated differently. sometimes, it is with deference and respect, but generally, you are not expected to contribute much to the overall function of the ship. this is partially by design - Navy instruction prevents any provider corps member from standing any watch (other than a departmental duty watch) on an active warship (both inport and underway). this doenst mean line side officers arent friendly and socialable, it just means that from an occupational standpoint, there are significant differences.

my daily schedule while we are underway looks something like this:
0600-0730 - breakfast... but i rarely make it out of my rack until 0730
0830 - morning meeting with all health services officers and chiefs
0900-1100 - morning patients (operative, endo, exams, etc)
1100-1300 - lunch
1300-1500 - afternoon patients
1500-1800 - PT time, etc
1800-1900 - dinner or evening patients (depending on the day)
2030 - occasional cigar with the medical guys

its pretty relaxed, we see the patients we need to see and dont stress too much. we have an evening rotation, and the 5 docs take one evening per week for exams. if we need to work a patient in, we can do that in the evenings as well. i run a little bleaching clinic on some evenings, but only because i want to. we do work 6 days a week, and might even take a sickcall on Sunday, if we are down in the clinic for computer access or aomething.

the clinic has seven operatories, a couple offices, a lab and some random other spaces (fan rooms, compressor rooms.) we have adec chairs, Kavo electric handpieces, Vit-L-escence, EsthetX, Filtek Supreme composite resines, Dentsply rotary endo files, all the burs, rubber dams, and amalgam you could ever want. this is an operational situation. no implants, no ortho, limited perio (1 RDH), no kids (obviously). 3 general dentists, one prosth, one OMFS. oral and IV sedation available from our ship's CRNA. woot!

my stateroom is a 2-man, located underneath one of the wardrooms (where officers eat) in an area of the ship known as 'Sleepy Hollow'. its quiet, i can control the thermostat for my side of the p-way from my room, and we have our own head down the p-way. two bunked racks, desks, drawers, chairs. i even have a refridgerator and a flat screen TV mounted at the foot of my rack. we have DirectTV when we are in US waters, and when we deploy we pick up a variety of statinos, depending on location. in the Gulf and off the coast of Pakistan, it is mostly an Arabian satillite network called 'Orbit'. we also have 3 movie channels on board, running movies almost all day; old stuff, new stuff, stuff not even out on DVD yet. its a pretty good variety.

the tough part of all this is the amount of time out to sea. by the time my 24 or 25 months on the carrier are up, i will have been gone 19+ months, including 2 deployments. i will have missed two wedding anniversaries, both birthdays for my youngest daughter, funerals, reunions, innumerable federal holidays. the extra sea pay, family separation allowance, and combat pay hardly begin to make up for all that time gone. if a ship isnt going out to sea, then it isnt doing its job and someone isnt getting promoted (i.e. your CO)

i have frineds that have had a much less active ship tour than i have. it behooves you to really quiz your detailer about where a particular ship is in it's life cycle. nonetheless, this is the Navy, we have ships and those ships take dentists to far-off, watery locations.

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

the clinic has seven operatories, a couple offices, a lab and some random other spaces (fan rooms, compressor rooms.) we have adec chairs, Kavo electric handpieces, Vit-L-escence, EsthetX, Filtek Supreme composite resines, Dentsply rotary endo files, all the burs, rubber dams, and amalgam you could ever want. this is an operational situation. no implants, no ortho, limited perio (1 RDH), no kids (obviously). 3 general dentists, one prosth, one OMFS. oral and IV sedation available from our ship's CRNA. woot!

Well, there is a good reason to have info from a few different perspectives. Life for dheav is different from the life of the dentists on the carrier I was stationed on. His hours are much better. Sounds like we had better tv channels though.

The state rooms sound like they are under the 2nd deck Wardroom? If yes, this is where our medical/dental staff officers bunked too.

As far as what can/will be done in the dental clinic does vary though. dheav said that there are no implants and no ortho, but it was done on our ship on a limited basis. I had braces placed the day we left on a deployment and had them removed just before arriving back homeport so I could have an implant placed for a congenitally missing #10. What gets done on a ship also depends on funding available and the experience of the denists you have on board. The general dentist who did my work had been doing ortho work for over 15 years.

So, what you will be allowed to do will depend on your training/experience and the funding that is available for the supplies needed. If you have a department head who does a good job fighting for extra funding, then you, too, can play around with non-standard procedures.

 

[dheav005]

we dont do ortho IAW BUMED instruction, which might be more recent that your last ship tour. i would love to be able to do some limited movement ortho, but the supply requirement for that would really eat into my supply budget. same for implants... the hardware for doing such procedures wasnt on the ship when i arrived and i have spent a majority of my time trying to overcome the supply deficit produced by group of dentists that preceded me.

which brings up another interesting point: in addition to being a dentist, i have also become something of a junior supply corps officer, learning waaaay too much about the arcane and redundant world of shipboard supply. it is worth remembering that no one will fight to supply your clinic like you will.

 

[del Sol DOHC]

So far we heard about carriers and amphibious assault ships. What other types of ships are there that a dentist might end up? Would the experience at sea be much different on a different type of ship? I am prior Chair Force and am excited about transitioning to the Navy for the HSCP scholarship.

 

[Smills91]

Well, there is a good reason to have info from a few different perspectives. Life for dheav is different from the life of the dentists on the carrier I was stationed on. His hours are much better. Sounds like we had better tv channels though.

The state rooms sound like they are under the 2nd deck Wardroom? If yes, this is where our medical/dental staff officers bunked too.

As far as what can/will be done in the dental clinic does vary though. dheav said that there are no implants and no ortho, but it was done on our ship on a limited basis. I had braces placed the day we left on a deployment and had them removed just before arriving back homeport so I could have an implant placed for a congenitally missing #10. What gets done on a ship also depends on funding available and the experience of the denists you have on board. The general dentist who did my work had been doing ortho work for over 15 years.

So, what you will be allowed to do will depend on your training/experience and the funding that is available for the supplies needed. If you have a department head who does a good job fighting for extra funding, then you, too, can play around with non-standard procedures.

Can you get internet access on the ships?

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

Can you get internet access on the ships?

Yes, but how well it works depends. It is via one of the ship's satellites. There is only so much bandwidth shipswide. So, the important computers have priority. Sectrect computers get its own portion of the bandwidth. There are times when the internet is fast and other times it can drag. I always found that if I really wanted best use of my time by not fighting with bandwidth, I would access the internet during the the night or early in the morning. By doing that, i rarely had troubles geeting access unless there were issues with the satellite link or the ship was sending out a lot of important information which at times they would shut off the general access so they could maximize the time sending info out.

So, yes, you do have access. But, how well the connection and speed can vary a lot. And hope that nothing like 9/11 doesn't happen again, because we lost e-mail and internet privileges for 8-10 days to keep info from leaking out. ---- like that prevented anything since people found ways of getting info out to loved ones.

 

[dheav005]

So far we heard about carriers and amphibious assault ships. What other types of ships are there that a dentist might end up? Would the experience at sea be much different on a different type of ship? I am prior Chair Force and am excited about transitioning to the Navy for the HSCP scholarship.

here are really only 3 ship platforms that carry dental officers these days. the already mentioned aircraft carriers have the biggest dental departments, but dentists are also found in the Gator Navy - the amphious assault ships. they go by various acronyms (LHA/LHA/LPD/LSD/LCC) and are different shapes and sizes. being at sea is probably much the same, but i know from talking to several of my buddies that their port calls are much different (smaller ship = less draft = more harbor possibilities) and the camaraderie is much tighter. a carrier has 200+ officers in the wardroom vs. 30-60(?) on an amphib. budgeting is tighter, so care can be constrained and usually there is only a single dentist, unless the Marines are embarked and bring their own dentist with them. a part of me wishes that i had taken an amphib instead of a carrier, but that part isnt big enough to make me stay in the Navy to grab a second sea tour...

Can you get internet access on the ships?

like NAVYDDS said, there is access, but it can be very limited or even turned off completely. on my ship, there is graduated access throughout the day, so that officers and chiefs have access all the time, POs by the afternoon, and E1-E3s by the evening. unfortunately, there is a great deal of Navy stuff and my collateral duties that required internet access; the fact that bandwidth is limited by ship positioning, restricted communication doctrines, and network saturation makes my life very difficult sometimes. my ship is supposed to be the first with a second satellite for access on the next deployment... hopefully things will be better.

 

[Smills91]

Yes, but how well it works depends. It is via one of the ship's satellites. There is only so much bandwidth shipswide. So, the important computers have priority. Sectrect computers get its own portion of the bandwidth. There are times when the internet is fast and other times it can drag. I always found that if I really wanted best use of my time by not fighting with bandwidth, I would access the internet during the the night or early in the morning. By doing that, i rarely had troubles geeting access unless there were issues with the satellite link or the ship was sending out a lot of important information which at times they would shut off the general access so they could maximize the time sending info out.

So, yes, you do have access. But, how well the connection and speed can vary a lot. And hope that nothing like 9/11 doesn't happen again, because we lost e-mail and internet privileges for 8-10 days to keep info from leaking out. ---- like that prevented anything since people found ways of getting info out to loved ones.

That seems totally reasonable. I'm just glad there is ACCESS. So Skyping family can be a solid epectations especially during non-peak hours. Glad to hear that.

 

[dheav005]

ah, i guess we should have mentioned the myriad of restrictions to access on a military network. there are a plethora of sites that are off-limits to anyone using the network on my ship. craigslist, eBay, facebook, myspace, youtube, IM, skype, blogger... basically any social networking or media-heavy site. video takes up a huge amount of bandwidth and presents multiple security concerns. from the ship, you can email or snail mail and use one of the POTS lines to make a satellite call home. that is about it.

in port, you are able to use your laptop to do whatever is allowed on the internet by the country you happen to be in. dubai is different form bahrain is different from europe, etc. so you can skype home when you are hooked up to a hotel internet connection, but not from the ship... sorry to burst your bubble!

 

[edyizme]

If we get sent to Afghanistan with a Marine unit, how is the internet access over there? Is it subject to the same restrictions as a ship or would we be able to use facebook, gmail, and even skype? It would be nice to be able to talk to my significant other...

Also, where are naval dentists typically stationed when in a warzone? Is it typically at a major base at a comfortable distance away from the "action?"

 

[Smills91]

ah, i guess we should have mentioned the myriad of restrictions to access on a military network. there are a plethora of sites that are off-limits to anyone using the network on my ship. craigslist, eBay, facebook, myspace, youtube, IM, skype, blogger... basically any social networking or media-heavy site. video takes up a huge amount of bandwidth and presents multiple security concerns. from the ship, you can email or snail mail and use one of the POTS lines to make a satellite call home. that is about it.

in port, you are able to use your laptop to do whatever is allowed on the internet by the country you happen to be in. dubai is different form bahrain is different from europe, etc. so you can skype home when you are hooked up to a hotel internet connection, but not from the ship... sorry to burst your bubble!

Ahhh...VPN's my friend, VPN's. ;-)

 

[dheav005]

officially, I would have to discourage all such things... but it has been known to happen!

 

[jyc]

1. What does the application packet for HPSP consist of and does it really take months to complete before it can be sent to the board?

2. I saw a post by someone who applied for the scholarship during their first year of dental school and was able to get the 4-year scholarship. How does that work? Is the first semester tuition amount repaid back to the student?

 

[gatorgrl10]

Does anyone here has the application packet saved on their computer? My recruiter was supposed to email it to me but forgot and left on vacation until January 15th and I was hoping I could get started on the application before then. If you have it please PM me and I'll give you my email address!

 

[jim85213]

1. What does the application packet for HPSP consist of and does it really take months to complete before it can be sent to the board?

2. I saw a post by someone who applied for the scholarship during their first year of dental school and was able to get the 4-year scholarship. How does that work? Is the first semester tuition amount repaid back to the student?

I applied and was accepted for a 4-year HPSP during my first year of dental school but that was back in 2007. I swore in near the end of my first semester and they back-paid my tuition for that semester, they did not back-pay for the stipend though. My school's FA department worked out everything with paying back my loans and getting money from the Navy. The Navy did not fill all of their HPSP spots back then...it was a much different application climate than now and I image all Navy HPSP spots are filled when fall class begin.

 

[Herme]

1. What does the application packet for HPSP consist of and does it really take months to complete before it can be sent to the board?

2. I saw a post by someone who applied for the scholarship during their first year of dental school and was able to get the 4-year scholarship. How does that work? Is the first semester tuition amount repaid back to the student?

I went through everything last year and it consisted of the 8 page application-in which you must enter all of the demographic info you can imagine, your entire history, family information, and an essay. Once I completed all of that, I met with my recruiter with the following in hand:

1. Birth certificate
2. Copy of your DAT score
3. Sealed official transcripts (if you need to request them, please have
them sent directly to me)
4. Resume
5. List of references to include name and mailing address (We need
employment from past 3 years and can use that info from your
application. Additionally, you need two instructor references.
Instructor can include your academic advisor. You may also have
character references to include someone such as a dentist that you
shadowed, member from your community of faith or volunteer service,
etc.).

Once all of that was in, I completed interviews with Navy Dental Corps Officers at Great Lakes Naval Base.

Shortly after that, I completed my MEPS physical and had the report sent to my recruiter.

That was all! It is a lot of stuff. The thing that slows it down the most usually is the letters of recommendation. Not everything is directly in your control, and you will spend a lot of time being the "go-between" between your recruiter and someone else.

I checked back through my emails, I first made contact with my recruiter on 8/12/08, got the application on 9/5/08, had my toured Great Lakes and had my interview on 9/18/08. Because I was concurrently applying for the HPSP with the Air Force, I had already completed my MEPS on 8/22/08 and just had to have a copy forwarded to the Navy, otherwise that would fall around the same time as the interview. Luckily, all of my evaluators understood I really needed them to complete my letter in a timely fashion and they all had them sent out withing about 2 weeks.

So, does it necessarily have to take months? No, but I was really on top of everything and it took 1. IMO, it will probably be at least 1 month if everyone is pushing with you.

To your second question, I believe that semester is backpayed. I have also heard of people just having it start for the spring semester. I think it depends on how many 4 yr HPSPs are available.

 

[perioplasticman]

Guys and Gals,

I been in the Navy Dental Corp for 13 years. I did a GPR at NNMC went out in the fleet for 6 years as a general dentist then went back to the Naval Postgraduate Dental school in Bethesda for Perio residency. I would be happy to answer some questions and try and give you the real deal, so your better prepared.

 

[Smills91]

Guys and Gals,

I been in the Navy Dental Corp for 13 years. I did a GPR at NNMC went out in the fleet for 6 years as a general dentist then went back to the Naval Postgraduate Dental school in Bethesda for Perio residency. I would be happy to answer some questions and try and give you the real deal, so your better prepared.

What were your observations as the reasons to choose an AEGD vs. a GPR program right out of dental school.

 

[perioplasticman]

What were your observations as the reasons to choose an AEGD vs. a GPR program right out of dental school.

It depends on what you want to do. A GPR is good if you want to be a periodontist or OS. You get more facetime with the surgeons making the choices at DUINS time on who they select.

A GPR and AEGD experience can really depends on when you go through it and who is teaching you. I did my GPR at bethesda years ago, I got tremendous experience in perio, trauma, pros, endo, OS and anethesia. However I was staff periodontist for that same GPR the last two years and I have to say those GPR's got boned.

They deployed the program director for the GPR twice. They did crap in the program, because most of the senior guys didnt care enough to teach them anything. So bottle line it depends when you go though and how much those teaching you in the Navy care.

Unfortunately, there are some Naval officers that are just collecting a pay check and dont care about the Junior guy.

I was fortunate doing my time, I had Captains who really wanted to make me the best dentist I could be. So my training experience was awesome, others may say different.

Trying to be as honest as possible.

 

[mistat0m]

What is the deployment like for an overseas station like Japan?

 

[perioplasticman]

What is the deployment like for an overseas station like Japan?

Pretty minimal as you are already forward deployed unless you are with the marines. Many people stationed in Oki will get deployed in support of the war, or you can get deployed on a training mission.

Its hard to really say as they are drawing from everywhere and anybody.

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

Pretty minimal as you are already forward deployed unless you are with the marines. Many people stationed in Oki will get deployed in support of the war, or you can get deployed on a training mission.

Its hard to really say as they are drawing from everywhere and anybody.

Uhh, perioplastic, are you forgetting something? Are you forgetting that the USS George Washington is stationed in Yokosuka, Japan? You are both overseas and deployed on an aircraft carrier if you are attached to the ship, therefore, you are going to be at sea like other carrier attached dentists while stationed in Japan.

 

[perioplasticman]

Uhh, perioplastic, are you forgetting something? Are you forgetting that the USS George Washington is stationed in Yokosuka, Japan? You are both overseas and deployed on an aircraft carrier if you are attached to the ship, therefore, you are going to be at sea like other carrier attached dentists while stationed in Japan.

Didn't forget about the USS George Washington at all. It should be understood that if you are on a ship you damn well bet you you will be deployed. I took his question as being deployed from a Japan mainland billet.

My GPR counterpart was on the USS Kennedy out of Jacksonville. He was out to sea for 16 months of his 2 year orders to the Kennedy. Between all the trainings and 6 month deployment and emergency this and that. He got his sea legs.

Thats why I laugh when a recruiter tells you guys and gals that the most you will be deployed is 6 months lol.

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

Didn't forget about the USS George Washington at all. It should be understood that if you are on a ship you damn well bet you you will be deployed. I took his question as being deployed from a Japan mainland billet.

My GPR counterpart was on the USS Kennedy out of Jacksonville. He was out to sea for 16 months of his 2 year orders to the Kennedy. Between all the trainings and 6 month deployment and emergency this and that. He got his sea legs.

Thats why I laugh when a recruiter tells you guys and gals that the most you will be deployed is 6 months lol.

Unfortunately, you and I know, but those people here on SDN who have never been in the military may not know that you can get stationed in japan on an aircraft carrier. Since you are new to this website, you need to realize that things you may take as basic knowledge is really new info to people here. It is better to let people see the entire picture than to assume someone meant only one thing. They may not know enough to ask for the complete picture!

This is why I needed to point out that you left that Japan option out since it is a very realistic option that someone here may get offered.

Perio, by the way, I was out to sea for 27 of 37 months aboard the USS Carl Vinson. And, of those 10 months at home, 4 1/2 of those months we were in the yards fixing the ship. I left home at 5 am and didn't get home until between 8 pm and midnight making sure ourt medical department was ready for the next deployment. So, I never got to see my wife even when she wasn't 3,000 miles away at school.

Do I wish I could get attached to a carrier again? IN A HEARTBEAT!

 

[Smills91]

Unfortunately, you and I know, but those people here on SDN who have never been in the military may not know that you can get stationed in japan on an aircraft carrier. Since you are new to this website, you need to realize that things you may take as basic knowledge is really new info to people here. It is better to let people see the entire picture than to assume someone meant only one thing. They may not know enough to ask for the complete picture!

This is why I needed to point out that you left that Japan option out since it is a very realistic option that someone here may get offered.

Perio, by the way, I was out to sea for 27 of 37 months aboard the USS Carl Vinson. And, of those 10 months at home, 4 1/2 of those months we were in the yards fixing the ship. I left home at 5 am and didn't get home until between 8 pm and midnight making sure ourt medical department was ready for the next deployment. So, I never got to see my wife even when she wasn't 3,000 miles away at school.

Do I wish I could get attached to a carrier again? IN A HEARTBEAT!

Why?

 

[May DMD]

Reading through all these posts has been extremely informative, thanks everyone for the answers.
I do have a question; would it be realistic to hope that this could be my 4 years of payback:
year 1: credential tour anywhere
years 2-3: operational overseas tour in Japan
year 4: extend operational overseas tour in Japan
The way I understand it, if I have an operational overseas tour, my spouse/family could come along, is that correct?

 

[perioplasticman]

Reading through all these posts has been extremely informative, thanks everyone for the answers.
I do have a question; would it be realistic to hope that this could be my 4 years of payback:
year 1: credential tour anywhere
years 2-3: operational overseas tour in Japan
year 4: extend operational overseas tour in Japan
The way I understand it, if I have an operational overseas tour, my spouse/family could come along, is that correct?

It could happen that way but you have to factor in detailers and cost of moves. If you do a credentially tour in Camp Lejeune odds are the detailer will not move you and assign you to Camp Lejeune.

Your best bet would be to try and get the AEGD over in Japan (I think it still exsists) then you would most definetly be stationed there.

And YEs your family could go with you to japan.

 

[goosestuff]

It could happen that way but you have to factor in detailers and cost of moves. If you do a credentially tour in Camp Lejeune odds are the detailer will not move you and assign you to Camp Lejeune.

Your best bet would be to try and get the AEGD over in Japan (I think it still exsists) then you would most definetly be stationed there.

And YEs your family could go with you to japan.

Unfortunately, there is no AEGD in Japan anymore (as of a year or two ago). It'd be great if it got brought back for FY2011

 

[jim85213]

Any Pendleton GPR residents on here?

 

[mistat0m]

Could you describe what deployments for the Navy are like? Such as, location, environment, and a typical day? Also, when do they determine slots for the 3 year HPSP?

 

[dheav005]

Reading through all these posts has been extremely informative, thanks everyone for the answers.
I do have a question; would it be realistic to hope that this could be my 4 years of payback:
year 1: credential tour anywhere
years 2-3: operational overseas tour in Japan
year 4: extend operational overseas tour in Japan
The way I understand it, if I have an operational overseas tour, my spouse/family could come along, is that correct?

overseas billets with families are 36 month billets. its costs the Navy a pretty penny to move you, your dependents, and all your stuff across the Pacific (or the Atlantic). if all you want is a credentialing tour, you could probably get that in Japan. AEGDs & GPRs are all stateside now, as several have been put to sleep due to lack of interest. (since it doesnt count as a payback year anymore...)

 

[DeeceDent]

I am interested in applying for an HPSP program but am a little apprehensive in terms of commitment and the delay I will have before I can start private practice (which is my ultimate goal).

My situation may be unique from others because I am looking into the HPSP more as a life opportunity rather than a financial opportunity.

Leaving the money side of HPSP completely out of the picture, is it a worthwhile experience in terms of 1. Cool opportunities like living abroad and 2. Professional Development?

Please let me know whether you think this is a good opportunity to get out there and do something new and unique for a few years, or if I'm wrong to think like this. I'm gonna be a dentist the rest of my life, is this something I will look back on and say "I'm glad I did that!"?

Thanks for your consideration...