Ok here's the deal...

[phantasmagoriun]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I'm a first year female dental student. I currently owe about 80 thousand worth of loans from undergrad. Looking at 4 years of dental school, I would be up to about 320,000 of total debt. I've recently been turned on to the idea of the HPSP scholarship program as a way to possibly cut that debt down to about 120,000 being as I would most likely apply for the 3 year program either through the army or airforce. Basically my concerns are as follows:

1. Bringing my spouse along. I'm engaged and plan to be married by the end of dental school. Will my husband be allowed to join me on overseas?

2. Dangerous conditions. Will I be deployed to a moving unit in Iraq?

3. Lack of patient spectrum. I hear some are only doing fillings and exams with no other real procedures seen over the years.

4. My happiness. I know this is relative but I have no idea whether my experience will be a pleasing one of if I will be miserable all 3 years.

5. Quality of residency. If I plan to apply for the 24-month Orthodontics residency, will I be a completely comprehensive specialist?

6. Housing. The recruiter I spoke with was vague about whether housing would be provided for my husband and I. Am I responsible to pay for my housing out of my salary?

7. Being hassled. I know this may be a silly concern but I have heard a few stories from women pursuing this and being heckled on a daily basis by soldiers, etc.

8. Airforce or Army? I have read on this forum and heard from others that the Airforce is the way to go but none have given me any solid reason as to why. Some say quality of life is better.

Any information or guidance would be greatly greatly appreciated. I understand this is a serious and binding decision that also includes my fiance and I wish to know all the fine print before I make it final.

 

[btizzels]

I'm a first year female dental student. I currently owe about 80 thousand worth of loans from undergrad. Looking at 4 years of dental school, I would be up to about 320,000 of total debt. I've recently been turned on to the idea of the HPSP scholarship program as a way to possibly cut that debt down to about 120,000 being as I would most likely apply for the 3 year program either through the army or airforce. Basically my concerns are as follows:

1. Bringing my spouse along. I'm engaged and plan to be married by the end of dental school. Will my husband be allowed to join me on overseas?

2. Dangerous conditions. Will I be deployed to a moving unit in Iraq?

3. Lack of patient spectrum. I hear some are only doing fillings and exams with no other real procedures seen over the years.

4. My happiness. I know this is relative but I have no idea whether my experience will be a pleasing one of if I will be miserable all 3 years.

5. Quality of residency. If I plan to apply for the 24-month Orthodontics residency, will I be a completely comprehensive specialist?

6. Housing. The recruiter I spoke with was vague about whether housing would be provided for my husband and I. Am I responsible to pay for my housing out of my salary?

7. Being hassled. I know this may be a silly concern but I have heard a few stories from women pursuing this and being heckled on a daily basis by soldiers, etc.

8. Airforce or Army? I have read on this forum and heard from others that the Airforce is the way to go but none have given me any solid reason as to why. Some say quality of life is better.

Any information or guidance would be greatly greatly appreciated. I understand this is a serious and binding decision that also includes my fiance and I wish to know all the fine print before I make it final.

Ok hope this helps, and granted i am not the formost authority on this but this is how i understand it.

#1 I guess the best answer is, it depends. If you are in the Army you may be in a semi dangerous area and your husband may not be allowed to travel with you. As I understand it this is only while you are deployed. The army seems to have the worst places to go as far as having spouses coming along. Again i am not in the army so maybe Hawkeye or someone else can better explain the Army's policies. The Airforce isn't usually deployed as much and you are usually on a base somewhere (either in the US or in an Allied country) Now usually a spouse will be allowed to come with you on these bases. Navy has deployments on ship, and obviously they aren't going to let your spouse bunk with you and come along for the ride, so he could meet you while in a foreign port, but you would have to pay for that.

#2 I would say the Army is the most likely to be deployed to Iraq. From what I understand you are in a relatively safe spot in Iraq if you go. Lets put it this way the military isn't going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on you and then take you to the desert and have you be a meat shield. I don't know if the AF does anything in Iraq, and for the Navy if you are deployed, I believe you are more likely to be on a ship in the Persian Gulf then on the ground in Iraq. Oh and another thing i don't think a dentist has been killed in any sort of combat since Korea.

#3 I have heard rumors of being in the amalgam express where all you do is fillings all day long. I would say the best way to avoid this is to do an AEGD or some other sort of residency. Again like any job if you can move yourself off the bottom of the totem poll you will get the better positions. I have also heard from former Navy dentists that they did more in 1 month in the Navy then they did in their entire time in Dental School. So you will get alot of experience.

#4 Depends, everyones experience is different, and as with most things in life your experience is what you make of it. Be positive and it should be a good experience

#5 All the specialty programs in the military are ADA accredited and therefore essentially equal or better then civilian residencies. Remember in the civilian world not every patient can afford the best treatment. In the military they don't pay for anything so theoretically you should be able to give them the best care money can buy. And therefore you should get more experience during your residency.

#6 Housing while on the scholarship comes out of the stipend that you get every month. While on active duty, you recieve Basic Housing Allowance which is tax free and variable depending on where you are stationed. For example you get payed more BAH in San Diego, then in the middle of Missouri. I believe you also get paid a little more for being married.

#7 Being hassled... I kinda laughed inside. Remember you will be a Captain/Lieutenant (depending on the branch) you are an officer and should demand the utmost respect. Any disrespect shouldn't and won't be tolerated unless you let it happen. Its kinda like any job, harassment isn't tolerated. So even if it is your commanding officer doing it to you there is always someone else in the chain of command that you can go to.

#8 Everyone loves the AF because they tend to have the best standard of living, ie less deployments and time away from family. I would say the Navy is second best, and Army third in this respect. I would have chosen the AF but they ran out of 4 year scholarships and the Navy still had some so i went with the Navy. But as much as it now pains me to say it, the AF is probably the best option for you. My advice is apply NOW..... lets say that again.... if you want the AF APPLY NOW!


hope this helps! Best of luck.... time for me to get back to studying

 

[AFDDS]

#1 - We only have 2-3 locations overseas that you cannot bring your spouse. 2 bases in Korea and one in Turkey. I think it goes without saying that your spouse wouldn't come along on a deployment.

#2 - The AF does deploy to Iraq. However, the majority of our deployments now are on a volunteer basis. I think it is good to remember, however, that all services have a camo uniform for a reason. No matter what service you join, the Dental Corps misison is all about readiness. I don't want to scare you into thinking, you'll be deployed often, because the truth is, very few people actually deploy. But, it's a possibility no matter what service you join.

#3 - I've posted this a few other times before. I've never seen a true "amalgam line" in the AF. At times, the mission may dictate you do more restorative dentistry to get people ready for deployments, but my experience in the AF has been a full spectrum practice. For example, at my first duty assignment, no one like endo, but me. I offered to do all the endo and did quite a bit. I also provided all the final restorations on those teeth, did some exams, occasional perio (one of my co-workers liked perio so he was doing most of it), and some extractions.

#4 - This is a tough one. I tell my residents this and all our new officers; you'll get out of it what you put into it. If you go into a base with a good attitude and a willingness to work hard, you will most likely have a great time. I won't say you won't run into the occasional unhappy person, but many times you will find out they had as much to do with their displeasure as anyone else. I came in the AF planning on specializing, doing my payback and getting out. I had a boss that could not relate to the young people in his clinic and I thought I would want to get out before I specialized, but the other people I worked with were great and we had a lot of fun at work and after work. I decided to go to a 2-year AEGD and 10 years later, I'm still having fun. Having fun is an absolute personal issue.

#5 - I'm probably biased because I'm a program director for a military AEGD, but I think the military programs are the best in the world. The services do some training in house and some at civilian schools. Either way it's great training. The in-house Ortho program is a Tri-Service program and I'd argue it's one of the best. From my experience, you will be very well rounded when you graduate.

#6 - You will get a housing allowance (on top of your salary) that is based on the location of the base. Some bases have more housing on base than others. So at some locations, you will easily be able to get a house on base if you want. At others, you will find it easier to live on the economy.

#7 - This won't be an issue. If you have a good attitude and want to work you'll be fine. The only people I've seen get "hassled" were those that deserved it. They had a bad attitude, didn't want to work , or had that "everybody owes me something" air about themselves. The majority of people more senior to you in the AF want to see you succeed and want to help if they can.

#8 - I'm probably biased, but I like the AF

 

[phantasmagoriun]

Thanks so much for the replies. It actually helped quite a bit. And with my spouse, he actually said he would like to come along with me if I get deployed somewhere, it was just the issue whether they would allow it or not.

I will definitely start to consider the air force over the army as more and more people (on top of yourselves) tell me it's the way to go, especially if you are married. Again, thanks a lot.

 

[cableguy]

#8 Everyone loves the AF because they tend to have the best standard of living, ie less deployments and time away from family. I would say the Navy is second best, and Army third in this respect. I would have chosen the AF but they ran out of 4 year scholarships and the Navy still had some so i went with the Navy. But as much as it now pains me to say it, the AF is probably the best option for you. My advice is apply NOW..... lets say that again.... if you want the AF APPLY NOW!

I was enlisted in both the Army and the AF. Personally I liked the Army much better b/c it seemed like there was less bs to deal with. The Army acts like the military but the AF tends to be run like a business. Of course some people like that. I've been out 5 yrs now, but in my experience the AF deployed just as much if not more than the Army. This wasn't the case until after the first gulf war, then everything changed.

Oh, and...
1. Yes unless it's a "hard-ship" tour (which the AF usually requires one) like S. Korea or Turkey.
2. I'm not sure what a "moving unit" is but you will most likey be at risk for deployment.
3. no idea
4. Attitude usually determines this. Your time in the military will be what you make. Expect sacrifice, though, for you and your family
5. no idea
6. You will recieve either housing or a housing allowance
7. You'll be an officer...
8. There is a joke that went around when I was in that poked fun at the disparity in quality of life while being deployed between the services. It went something like this: "The marines are happy if they have sleeping bags. Army soldiers are happy if they have a tent, but the AF troops are pissed off if they can't hook up their nintendos"

-will

 

[krmower]

I'm a first year female dental student. I currently owe about 80 thousand worth of loans from undergrad. Looking at 4 years of dental school, I would be up to about 320,000 of total debt. I've recently been turned on to the idea of the HPSP scholarship program as a way to possibly cut that debt down to about 120,000 being as I would most likely apply for the 3 year program either through the army or airforce. Basically my concerns are as follows:

1. Bringing my spouse along. I'm engaged and plan to be married by the end of dental school. Will my husband be allowed to join me on overseas?

2. Dangerous conditions. Will I be deployed to a moving unit in Iraq?

3. Lack of patient spectrum. I hear some are only doing fillings and exams with no other real procedures seen over the years.

4. My happiness. I know this is relative but I have no idea whether my experience will be a pleasing one of if I will be miserable all 3 years.

5. Quality of residency. If I plan to apply for the 24-month Orthodontics residency, will I be a completely comprehensive specialist?

6. Housing. The recruiter I spoke with was vague about whether housing would be provided for my husband and I. Am I responsible to pay for my housing out of my salary?

7. Being hassled. I know this may be a silly concern but I have heard a few stories from women pursuing this and being heckled on a daily basis by soldiers, etc.

8. Airforce or Army? I have read on this forum and heard from others that the Airforce is the way to go but none have given me any solid reason as to why. Some say quality of life is better.

Any information or guidance would be greatly greatly appreciated. I understand this is a serious and binding decision that also includes my fiance and I wish to know all the fine print before I make it final.

1) Your spouse can come with you to most locations. The Army is currently changing so even Korea will begin to be opened up to families. The only place your spouse wouldn't come (except currently Korea) would be Iraq/Afghanistan

2) Most Army dentists now deploy for 6 months. Air Force dentists deploy for 4 months, Navy on a ship 6-9 months, Marines 9 months. If I am incorrect let me know. A few Army dentists do deploy longer, but the majority are 6 months.

3) Patient spectrum in the Army is large. The limitation with what you do is based upon 2 things 1) what you have been trained and allowed to do 2) what the need of your clinic is. Most bosses will try to give you some variety. The way to be more likely to have variety is to do a 1 yr AEGD or other specialty training.

4) Without knowing you that is too subjective to guess. I can let you contact some other female Army dentists so you can ask them.

5) All military residencies are ADA approved, thus equivalent to any residency found anywhere else. The Army has more specialty spots across the board than any other service - including ortho (Army orthodontists do not deploy).

6) If you live off the base you pay for housing, but you recieve non-taxed money for that. for example I live near DC and recieve an extra $2550/month to cover the cost. It varies by location. If you live on post housing and utilities are free. The Army is going through major housing renovations world wide and has privatized their housing. Many locations are becoming quite nice.

7) Being hasseled - No. Sexual harrasment is not tolerated and training on it occurs constantly.

8) Air Force or Army - depends on you. Look at what locations you may want to live in, whether you want to specialize. Use those to guage which direction to go.

Again, if you want to talk to people in the Army let me know and I can hook you up.

 

[umkcdds]

you can't take a spouse to the sinai. you also can't take them to south korea for a 1-year tour, but you can for a two-year tour.
spouses cannot go on deployments.