Ask an Air Force Dentist

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This is a strange question, but I attended a presentation for HPSP the other day and someone asked if you could get out of the HPSP contract if you paid back all of the money you had received via tuition/fees, stipend, COT pay, etc? If you wanted to to become a line officer in the AF or another branch is that possible? Or if you decide you don't want to be a dentist but want to serve in the armed forces is their a way to do that? An HPSP student gave the presentation and didn't know the answer to the question and I am curious.

Not possible. You can do your payback as a dental officer and then try for the line side. You'd still have to qualify to be a line officer.

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Approximately how long after starting the HPSP do you commence your 45 Active Duty Tour? Is it purely random?

My first active duty tour (COT training) fell during the summer. This varies depending on when you start the HPSP. The rest of the 45-day duty tours are usually scheduled from mid-January to February. This has been the case for the past 3 years, be advised that things can always change.
 
I have a question regarding CAMBRA. I go to school at UCSF where they are teaching us to use Caries Management by Risk Assessment with our patients. Has the Air Force incorporated this into their Dental Corps? If not as a whole, would I be able to do this myself? Thanks!
 
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I have a question regarding CAMBRA. I go to school at UCSF where they are teaching us to use Caries Management by Risk Assessment with our patients. Has the Air Force incorporated this into their Dental Corps? If not as a whole, would I be able to do this myself? Thanks!

I came in the AF in 1998 and we were doing caries risk assessments then. We have been teaching the medical model of caries control since then for sure. We don't call it CAMBRA, but it's the same idea.
 
As a dental officer can you attend Air Command and Staff College or Squadron Officer School? I am interested in making a career out of the Air Force and attending these schools seems like a good way to diversify my experience and help my career. Also, are there any issues with people not respecting dental officers because they have direct commissions and did not attend OTS/Basic Training? Thanks for the great info and your service.
 
As a dental officer can you attend Air Command and Staff College or Squadron Officer School? I am interested in making a career out of the Air Force and attending these schools seems like a good way to diversify my experience and help my career.

Yes and no. We typically do these schools by correspondence. It is extremely rare (I know of only one person in 10 years) to attend SOS in residence. ACSC is almost as rare. You only need to do correspondence in order to meet this requirement. We send 1 Col per year to Air War College.

Also, are there any issues with people not respecting dental officers because they have direct commissions and did not attend OTS/Basic Training?

Again, yes and no. Some will think you've had everything handed to you. But they don't understand what you've done or how hard you've worked to get where you are. Being the military, however, if you outrank someone, then you outrank them and that will be respected in the end.

Thanks for the great info and your service.

Hope this helps.
 
Is charting still using paper or is the Air Force now paperless?
 
My ADT is usually sometime in January to mid-February. Also, if you do COT before school, that counts as your ADT for your freshman year. So, lets say you did cot 7/2008, then your next ADT will be 1/2010 (at least, that's the way mine worked out)

Hmm, well I didn't do COT (going to do it following graduation) and I started my scholarship in May 2008 so any guesses when I'd start my first ADT? Might be time to contact the 'ol recruiter again.
 
Hmm, well I didn't do COT (going to do it following graduation) and I started my scholarship in May 2008 so any guesses when I'd start my first ADT? Might be time to contact the 'ol recruiter again.

Then I would imagine you would get orders around the middle of january. I wouldn't bother contacting a recruiter....in my experience, they have nothing useful to say. Your best point of contact is the financial office involved with HPSP. You can find their contact info on the afit website under "money matters". I've had very good luck with them and they are usually very friendly and helpful.

https://www.afit.edu/cip
 
i've already tried looking for the thread to my question, but i couldn't find it. i'm thinking about applying to the air force hpsp for a 3 year scholarship, and i was wondering what the main differences were between a 3 and 4 year scholarship, other than the fact that you only have to serve 3 years of active duty (but does this mean that inactive duty is also only 3 years?). please feel free to redirect me to another thread. thanks!!
 
When you join the US Military no matter which branch no matter whether it is as an officer or enlisted, you must serve 8 years. So, if you take a 3 year scholarship, then you owe 3 years active duty. After that, you must serve 5 more years whether it be on active duty, in the active reserves or on the IRR. The great thing about the IRR is that you can live a civilian life (for the most part) and really have no worry about ever getting called up to active duty since no dentist in the AF has ever been called up from the IRR. So, once you complete your 3 year obligation, I wouldn't worry about the other years if you choose to serve the 3 and get off active duty to serve the remaining 5.

i've already tried looking for the thread to my question, but i couldn't find it. i'm thinking about applying to the air force hpsp for a 3 year scholarship, and i was wondering what the main differences were between a 3 and 4 year scholarship, other than the fact that you only have to serve 3 years of active duty (but does this mean that inactive duty is also only 3 years?). please feel free to redirect me to another thread. thanks!!
 
The great thing about the IRR is that you can live a civilian life (for the most part) and really have no worry about ever getting called up to active duty since no dentist in the AF has ever been called up from the IRR. So, once you complete your 3 year obligation, I wouldn't worry about the other years if you choose to serve the 3 and get off active duty to serve the remaining 5.

Once IRR time is up can you just stay on IRR if you seek to fulfill a 20 year obligation and get the military retirement package...or once the 8 year period is up, will you automatically be switched over to active duty once again?
 
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Once IRR time is up can you just stay on IRR if you seek to fulfill a 20 year obligation and get the military retirement package...or once the 8 year period is up, will you automatically be switched over to active duty once again?

Technically, the IRR should be the same for the AF as it is for the Navy, but I cannot say for 100% certainty. For us in the Navy, you can stay on the IRR until 20 years as long as you meet a few things. First of all, when you are on the IRR, you are eligible for promotion and your package goes to the board whether you want it to or not. After so many years, if you do not get promoted to the next rank, you will be administratively separated. So, if you just sit there on the IRR without doing anything with the military for let's say 6 years and you don't get promoted to O-4 or if you make O-4 but never make O-5, they might very well administratively separate you because you couldn't make rank. So, you need to show you are at least maintaining a minimal amount of military structure. For the Navy, you can take online courses that will show you are at least doing something. how much it helps, I don't know. What talking those courses does help is making each year a credible year toward retirement. In order for each year on the IRR to count toward retirement, you have to maintain a certain number of reserve credit (drill)days. These can be obtained by takign online courses, drilling with the reservists or requesting to do 2 weeks drill time each year along side the active reservists. The total number of credits you need to make it a credible year is 50. You automatically get 15 days just for being on the IRR, so realistically you only need 3 credits per month or 35 more credits. When I was on the IRR, I would spend a weekend and each night for a week to bust out as many as I could. I got between 40 and 60 credits done this way. That is the equivilent of drilling for 40-60 days. Pretty nice. So, I wasted one weekend and each night for a week to make a year count toward retirement should I choose only to retire from the reserves. Not bad at all. Now, if you don't get 50 credit days, which is the minimum you need, then the year on the IRR will not count toward retirement and eventually you will be released. It would be crazy to be in the IRR for 20 years if you don't make each year count.

No, you will not be automatically switched over to active duty after the 8 years is up. Now, if you wanted to go back to active duty, you could, but you will not be switched over. Once you have served 8 years (active, active reserve and IRR time), your obligation is over and you can get out at anytime once you have submitted the proper paperwork to resign your commission and it is approved.
 
How does the AEGD work? Will one get more exposure to specialties as in a rotating GPR? Just curious as to how the Air Force runs it's AEGD programs.
 
Hello sir,

I'm in the USAF and i have a few question regarding deployments if you got time. I'm not going to go to specifics, since I know all too well RE: OPSEC.

I've got the opportunity to deploy (voluntarily). Could you please tell me what the new AEF Banding means and how long would the deployment be?

And if you have experience or know of a USAF dentist with deployment experience, how is life as a deployed 47G3 in the AOR? I've read the posts by the Army dentist that's deployed however, i'm not too sure if it can correlate with the USAF experience.

thanks
 
How does the AEGD work? Will one get more exposure to specialties as in a rotating GPR? Just curious as to how the Air Force runs it's AEGD programs.

AF AEGD programs are all pretty much the same. You will rotate in all specialties (some don't have pediatric dentists, so you may get a little less of that depending on where you go.)

PM me your email and I'll send you some more info.
 
Hello sir,

I'm in the USAF and i have a few question regarding deployments if you got time. I'm not going to go to specifics, since I know all too well RE: OPSEC.

I've got the opportunity to deploy (voluntarily). Could you please tell me what the new AEF Banding means and how long would the deployment be?

And if you have experience or know of a USAF dentist with deployment experience, how is life as a deployed 47G3 in the AOR? I've read the posts by the Army dentist that's deployed however, i'm not too sure if it can correlate with the USAF experience.

thanks

I'll send you some info on a PM. However, I haven't met anyone yet that didn't enjoy their experience. I'm sure some are out there, but most feel like they are really contributing and have come back with a new outlook.
 
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HI
I am 1st year dental student at international dentist program , which is 3rd year at dental school and I have 2 years to be graduated .
I just received some information about air force dentistry which sounds good to me.
i was wondering since i am permanent resident of US and i am in international dentist program does it apply to me too or not and if it does how it is ??
also i plan to apply for OMFS after this two years, i want to know what is going to happen to my responsibility to AF or how my pay back is gonna be and also if i apply for AF dentistry now(3rd year of dental school ) am i gonna have more chances to get into OMFS program or not ?
at the end i would appreciate if you tell me , for someone like me whose goal is applying for speciality and doing residency at OMFS what is the pros and cons of AF?
thanks

You need to contact your regional medical recruiter for more info. You must be a U.S. Citizen to serve as an officer in the military.

If you get an AF scholarship and then apply to OMFS without the military OK, you may have to wait to train. Best thing to do is to is contact your recruiter to see what your options are. If you still want to do it, contacting AFPC would be your next step to discuss educational issues and post-grad training.
 
I was just accepted to IUSD in Indianapolis and I am considering all my funding option including the AF. My father was a Lt Col in the AF and I would like to carry on the tradition of service to my country, pay back student loans, and get the best training availible. My wife is worried about were we could be stationed after graduation though. Do you pick were you want to be stationed when you are an AF dentist? Also I would like to continue my education within the service. Are you paid or given a stipend while you continue your ed? Sorry for the questions I just want to make sure to have all the information.
 
If you end up a comprehensive dentist what is the pay scale? How much are you paid after graduation during your payback time?
 
I was just accepted to IUSD in Indianapolis and I am considering all my funding option including the AF. My father was a Lt Col in the AF and I would like to carry on the tradition of service to my country, pay back student loans, and get the best training availible. My wife is worried about were we could be stationed after graduation though. Do you pick were you want to be stationed when you are an AF dentist? Also I would like to continue my education within the service. Are you paid or given a stipend while you continue your ed? Sorry for the questions I just want to make sure to have all the information.


I'll answer your last question first. You continue to get paid while you are in training. You receive the same pay for whatever rank you are.

I always here people being worried about the location they will be stationed. I will tell you from experience, it's more about who you're there with than where you are. My first assignment was at a base no one really wants to go to, but I was there with 4 other great people and we had a blast. I was at a great location with some people that seemed to feel like they needed to make life less than bearable for everyone around them and while it didn't completely ruin that assignment, it didn't help it and I wasn't as happy there as I was at the other location.

All that being said, remember, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Most everything in life is about attitude. Just keep a positive one and you'll find some fun no matter where you go.
 
I was wondering if you could explain how things work after graduation, in relation to base assignments. From what I know, at the beginning of your senior year you appy for AEGD and get a list of bases to preference out (do you do this for both AEGD locations, as well as non-AEGD locations in case you aren't accepted?).

So, assuming you do an AEGD, you got to that base for 1 year. At what point in that year do you request your next assignment? Then, after AEGD, are you at your next base for 2, 3, or 4 years? Do you have the opportunity to move during that time?

Oh, and you had mentioned earlier in this thread that if you do your AEGD in Alaska, then there's a strong possibility you will be stationed there afterwards. Would that assignment be the normal duration (say 3 or 4 years) or is it shortened 1 year d/t your time at the base for AEGD?

I also heard that overseas assignments are difficult to get (ie...germany, england, etc). Is that your experience as well? I know Aviano is near impossible to get.

Thanks for your help. Sorry for the laundry list of questions.
 
I was wondering if you could explain how things work after graduation, in relation to base assignments. From what I know, at the beginning of your senior year you appy for AEGD and get a list of bases to preference out (do you do this for both AEGD locations, as well as non-AEGD locations in case you aren't accepted?).

You apply to the AEGD early. When you apply, you list your preferences. If you are not accepted or choose not to attend an AEGD, you will then get a list of openings at other bases to prioritize.

So, assuming you do an AEGD, you got to that base for 1 year. At what point in that year do you request your next assignment? Then, after AEGD, are you at your next base for 2, 3, or 4 years? Do you have the opportunity to move during that time?

You start looking at assignments in Jan-Feb timeframe. AFPC releases a list to the program directors to discuss with residents. Usually have to have your top 3 choices in by Feb. AFPC puts together a map showing all the bases and how many people have put each base as their #1, 2 or 3 choice and what bases no one has selected. This gives you a chance to reorder and/or rank the remaining bases. You usually know where you are going in April. This is important. For example, I had 2 residents once that said they were ok with any base in the U.S., but didn't want to go overseas. Once they saw the map, they reordered some of the U.S. bases that no one had ranked in their top 3. Both were successful at staying in the U.S.

How long you are at your next base depends on where you go and how much time you have left on your commitment. If you go overseas, you will have a 2-3 year minimum tour (1 year in Korea). Sometimes it is possible to extend at those bases. CONUS tours are 4 years minimum time on station.

Oh, and you had mentioned earlier in this thread that if you do your AEGD in Alaska, then there's a strong possibility you will be stationed there afterwards. Would that assignment be the normal duration (say 3 or 4 years) or is it shortened 1 year d/t your time at the base for AEGD?

Still a possibility. If you stay, it would be for the 3 year tour. AEGD year + 2 years.

I also heard that overseas assignments are difficult to get (ie...germany, england, etc). Is that your experience as well? I know Aviano is near impossible to get.

Not necessarily. Depends on what is open and what the base needs. Aviano is hard to get, but not impossible. I had the opportunity to visit Germany a couple of years ago and toured all the bases there. I didn't go to a single base that would be a bad assignment. England was nice as well. Your skill level when graduating from the AEGD can make a difference on where you go. If a base needs someone with strong exodontia or endo skills, they will let AFPC know and how you perform in those areas can make a difference.

Thanks for your help. Sorry for the laundry list of questions.

Glad to help. Let me plug the AEGD's once more. I cannot tell you how important they can be to your career. The education you get is invaluable. If you get this opportunity, don't pass it up.
 
Glad to help. Let me plug the AEGD's once more. I cannot tell you how important they can be to your career. The education you get is invaluable. If you get this opportunity, don't pass it up.


Great info, and thanks again. I'm definitely planning on doing an AEGD. When my wife and I talk about where we'd like to go, Alaska and Germany are usually at the top, but I wasn't sure how realistic that was (thinking that europe was tough to get and that Alaska would be a 4-year tour) since we're only planning on staying for our 4-year committment. Glad to hear it's more of a possibiltiy than I was thinking.
 
One other question. I'll graduate in may, and have already attended COT. What do I do between graduation and AEGD starting in august?
 
Great info, and thanks again. I'm definitely planning on doing an AEGD. When my wife and I talk about where we'd like to go, Alaska and Germany are usually at the top, but I wasn't sure how realistic that was (thinking that europe was tough to get and that Alaska would be a 4-year tour) since we're only planning on staying for our 4-year committment. Glad to hear it's more of a possibiltiy than I was thinking.

Remember, Alaska is considered OCONUS, so it's only a 3 year tour.
 
One other question. I'll graduate in may, and have already attended COT. What do I do between graduation and AEGD starting in august?

Good question. I don't have a good answer for you on that one yet. I know it has been discussed, but not sure what the answer is. I'll do some checking and let you know.
 
Good question. I don't have a good answer for you on that one yet. I know it has been discussed, but not sure what the answer is. I'll do some checking and let you know.

If you have already been to COT, I was told your report date to your AEGD base will be the end of July.
 
If you have already been to COT, I was told your report date to your AEGD base will be the end of July.

One thing you do need to take into consideration. Once you are on active duty, which if the AF is like the Navy (which it should be since we both fall under DFAS), then you will be charged leave for the days you are in transit if you are not attached to your local AF recruiting district or hae not checked into the AEGD command. I know a few people who have made the mistake of not reporting to anyone from graduation until they checked into their command and were charged leave for that entire time. They were in the hole as far as leave oges for over a year, so no vacation for them the first year until got some leave built up.

So, make sure you know who you are supposed to report to once you graduate form d-school and report as often as they tell you to. I'd hate for you to lose a bunch of leave time based on somethign you didn't realize you had to do.
 
One thing you do need to take into consideration. Once you are on active duty, which if the AF is like the Navy (which it should be since we both fall under DFAS), then you will be charged leave for the days you are in transit if you are not attached to your local AF recruiting district or hae not checked into the AEGD command. I know a few people who have made the mistake of not reporting to anyone from graduation until they checked into their command and were charged leave for that entire time. They were in the hole as far as leave oges for over a year, so no vacation for them the first year until got some leave built up.

So, make sure you know who you are supposed to report to once you graduate form d-school and report as often as they tell you to. I'd hate for you to lose a bunch of leave time based on somethign you didn't realize you had to do.

You will be given a report no later than date and your orders will have a set amount of travel days. If you have 10 travel days and take 12 days to get to your location, you will be charged 2 days of leave.
 
You will be given a report no later than date and your orders will have a set amount of travel days. If you have 10 travel days and take 12 days to get to your location, you will be charged 2 days of leave.

I was just giving examples that I have personally seen where the individuals didn't have to report to school for a couple months and got lost in the shuffle. Because they weren't mustering with anyone between schooling, they were charged leave (which can deminish real quick if you do't have much leave built up).

Sorry for not clarifying everything for the individual. I just hate to see when the extreme cases occur. In each case I saw, it was a initial factor why the individuals diliked the military from the get go.
 
I was just giving examples that I have personally seen where the individuals didn't have to report to school for a couple months and got lost in the shuffle. Because they weren't mustering with anyone between schooling, they were charged leave (which can deminish real quick if you do't have much leave built up).

Sorry for not clarifying everything for the individual. I just hate to see when the extreme cases occur. In each case I saw, it was a initial factor why the individuals diliked the military from the get go.

Understood. I just want to make sure something like this doesn't happen. When you get your orders, your recruiter or AFPC should tell you when they start and how many travel days you have. This will keep you from losing those days needlesly.

If you are going to an AEGD, you won't have much time for house hunting, so it's best to do it in advance if possible. If you are not going to an AEGD, you will be given up to 8 days for house hunting.

The reason you don't get those days in an AEGD, is because we are required to have you in your program for 52 weeks in order to meet CODA requirements. If we go over that, it starts adding to your commitment.
 
Understood. I just want to make sure something like this doesn't happen. When you get your orders, your recruiter or AFPC should tell you when they start and how many travel days you have. This will keep you from losing those days needlesly.

If you are going to an AEGD, you won't have much time for house hunting, so it's best to do it in advance if possible. If you are not going to an AEGD, you will be given up to 8 days for house hunting.

The reason you don't get those days in an AEGD, is because we are required to have you in your program for 52 weeks in order to meet CODA requirements. If we go over that, it starts adding to your commitment.

i guess you and are looking at things in a different manner, but both trying to save people from the leave issue. My response was to the following post you made. If a person has already been to COT, then the report date to the AEGD base is end of July. Since some schools graduate as early as May, there would be two months of unaccounted for time if they did not report to anyone. Depending on how a command would look at this, they may feel it is necessary to charge to person leave for this time unaccounted for which is what I have seen happen to a couple people. That is what I was trying to make sure individuals here avoided. ALWAYS report to someone to avoid leave issues or unauthorized absence issues.


If you have already been to COT, I was told your report date to your AEGD base will be the end of July.
 
i guess you and are looking at things in a different manner, but both trying to save people from the leave issue. My response was to the following post you made. If a person has already been to COT, then the report date to the AEGD base is end of July. Since some schools graduate as early as May, there would be two months of unaccounted for time if they did not report to anyone. Depending on how a command would look at this, they may feel it is necessary to charge to person leave for this time unaccounted for which is what I have seen happen to a couple people. That is what I was trying to make sure individuals here avoided. ALWAYS report to someone to avoid leave issues or unauthorized absence issues.

In the Air Force, you're not on active duty until you get orders to report to your base and your EAD date will be the day you sign into the base. So if you graduate in May and don't report until July, you won't be charged leave, because you're not on active duty until you sign into the base.

I agree that people need to be proactive to make sure they now when these dates are so they can minimize the impact on their leave.
 
What is the length of the Air Force OMFS residendy (4yrs? 6yrs?)? Are there opportunities to earn degrees with the residency like a masters, PhD, or MD?

Thank You
 
What is the length of the Air Force OMFS residendy (4yrs? 6yrs?)? Are there opportunities to earn degrees with the residency like a masters, PhD, or MD?

Thank You

the AF programs are both 4 yrs. No masters degree. Thank God! There is enough stuff to do
 
i heard that ortho and endo residencies are hard to get right after dental school, but how hard is OMFS? and what can i do to increase my chance of getting into these residency programs other than a good GPA and board exam score? thank you
 
i heard that ortho and endo residencies are hard to get right after dental school, but how hard is OMFS? and what can i do to increase my chance of getting into these residency programs other than a good GPA and board exam score? thank you

They can be hard to get. It depends on the year and who else is applying. OMS is also a possibility, but still competitive.

Continue to work hard. Get some good recommendations from other surgeons and keep your grades up.
 
What are the chances that a new dentist just out of dental school gets shipped out within their first 4 years of working for the AF? Is it common for AF dentists to go over seas? How long are tours?
 
What are the chances that a new dentist just out of dental school gets shipped out within their first 4 years of working for the AF? Is it common for AF dentists to go over seas? How long are tours?

Typically, you would need to request to go overseas. Tours range from 1 year to 3 years depending on location and whether or not you take dependents with you.
 
i heard that ortho and endo residencies are hard to get right after dental school, but how hard is OMFS? and what can i do to increase my chance of getting into these residency programs other than a good GPA and board exam score? thank you

Hi,

I heard that if I take the Army HPSP, then I will not be able to get into Air Force specialty programs or vice versa. Is this true?

If so, do you think that getting a specialty program slot (i.e. ortho, endo, etc) with the Army is less competitive than say, the Air Force because the Army is bigger and has more slots available? I am torn between Army HPSP and Air Force HPSP, and this would be a tie breaker. Any thoughts?
 
Hi,

I heard that if I take the Army HPSP, then I will not be able to get into Air Force specialty programs or vice versa. Is this true?

If so, do you think that getting a specialty program slot (i.e. ortho, endo, etc) with the Army is less competitive than say, the Air Force because the Army is bigger and has more slots available? I am torn between Army HPSP and Air Force HPSP, and this would be a tie breaker. Any thoughts?

I don't think it's less competitive in the Army. They have more slots, but they have more people apply. Competition will be about the same, statistically, no matter which service you're in.

Ortho is Tri-service program and we do some interservice training with OMS in San Antonio. Other than that, you don't train in the other services' programs much if at all.
 
I recently talked to my recruiter and he said there's 10 scholarships left, I was wondering, since I'm just starting my application, if the probability of earning the 4 yr scholarship is large? In other words, I don't want to waste a lot of people's time if there's a slim-to-none chance.
 
I recently talked to my recruiter and he said there's 10 scholarships left, I was wondering, since I'm just starting my application, if the probability of earning the 4 yr scholarship is large? In other words, I don't want to waste a lot of people's time if there's a slim-to-none chance.

Unfortunately, the only way to know for sure is to apply. Just look at it like this. Recruiters are paid to handle the application you send in. So their just doing their job.
 
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