My 4 years at the USAF were very valuable. Although I started with them 22 years ago, I believe most military programs still provide tuition assistance. I did not do any residencies but I wished I had gone to the 2 year AEGD-2 program. I was so burnt of with school and at that time I was scared off. I also heard that the main program was with many other dental residencies all competing for specialty work. So in my belief, the general dentist may get stuck doing amalgam cuspal coverages instead of endo, pros, OS, etc. With that in mind, I did my informal "residency" in my 4 years and tried to learn as much as possible from my expert colleagues. We had this one Comprehensive Dentist (completed the AEGD-2 at a smaller base without specialists) and he was my idol. He could do apico, perio, oral, any surgeries, pros, ortho, etc as good as the specialists. He knew all peer reviewed dental specialty journals. The other doctors would ask him about their complex cases and he would know how to manage them. That experience help me land a great job at a corporate DMO doing only endo at nice pay with very little stress. I had a few dentists including my mentor endodontist ask me about their complex cases and to take a look at suspicious oral lesions and I was so flattered.
