residency competitiveness

[korndoctor]

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to do a residency in the military such as orthodontics or oral surgery, do we still have to in top 10% of our class and score > 90 on NBDE part 1 boards or is it mainly more based on need based....like if the air force needs more orthodontists now, they will take more residents even though you might be in 50% of your class and have 80 on boards.

any tips is appreciated, thxs

 

[eric275]

to do a residency in the military such as orthodontics or oral surgery, do we still have to in top 10% of our class and score > 90 on NBDE part 1 boards or is it mainly more based on need based....like if the air force needs more orthodontists now, they will take more residents even though you might be in 50% of your class and have 80 on boards.

any tips is appreciated, thxs

Just a heads up, your chances of getting ortho or pedo right out of school are pretty much next to nil. Reason being there is not much a need for those specialties and the few slots they give out are typically given out to people that have put their time in.

As an example, in the entire dental corps of the Navy which is ~1000 dentists, 14 of those are orthodontists.

 

[korndoctor]

i mean after a 4 year hpsp...after 4 years of active duty....how hard is it to specialize with the military?

in that case, should we just go to the best dental school we can get into that has high percentage of specializing in case i dont get military residency programs after serving for 4 years? u would recommend a school that's pass/fail?

 

[AirborneDentist]

i mean after a 4 year hpsp...after 4 years of active duty....how hard is it to specialize with the military?

in that case, should we just go to the best dental school we can get into that has high percentage of specializing in case i dont get military residency programs after serving for 4 years? u would recommend a school that's pass/fail?

After doing the 4 years of active duty...it is going to be a bigger factor of what you did during that time than what dental school you went to. Don't get me wrong, your boards and stuff are still important...but your military career starts to play a bigger factor!

 

[korndoctor]

Thanks AirborneDentist. Could you elaborate what you mean exactly by our 4 year of active duty. Like what i'm wondering is what types of stuff should we be doing during active duty that will help us specialize? PM me if needed. thanks

 

[AFDDS]

Thanks AirborneDentist. Could you elaborate what you mean exactly by our 4 year of active duty. Like what i'm wondering is what types of stuff should we be doing during active duty that will help us specialize? PM me if needed. thanks

Completing an AEGD is a great start. It allows someone in the specialty you are intersted in to work with you for a year. That's usually where you get your strongest letter of recommendation. If you can't get a strong recommendation from a Program Director and a Specialty staff, it will make it difficult to get into that program.

Dental school scores will still count. But has Airborne noted above, if you've been in for a few years, your body of work can be a big help. If you just skate by during that time, your commander will just write a lackluster letter for you. If you are a productive member of the team and such, your commander will most likely write a glowing letter.

A short word on pass/fail vs. traditional GPA. When meeting a board, pass/fail transcripts don't provide much information on how you did in a course. It gives us less to compare than a GPA. It doesn't necessarily hurt your chances, but it complicates things. In other words, I look at one transcript and see a 3.85 GPA and another one and see Pass. How do I compare those two? I have to look at other things, like National board scores, GRE scores where applicable, extracurricular activities, military background, etc.... I've said this many times before. If you want to specialize, the best way in is to study hard and work hard to develop the whole person so we have something to look at other than your grades.

 

[Aceofspades]

If you do a military AEGD/GPR, can you apply for and enroll in a specialty training program while doing it so you are set up to specialize immediately after your 1 year residency? I heard that you have to wait a certain minimum amount of years between residencies.

 

[AFDDS]

If you do a military AEGD/GPR, can you apply for and enroll in a specialty training program while doing it so you are set up to specialize immediately after your 1 year residency? I heard that you have to wait a certain minimum amount of years between residencies.

In the AF you can. One of my residents this year has already been accepted to OMS.

 

[umkcdds]

If you do a military AEGD/GPR, can you apply for and enroll in a specialty training program while doing it so you are set up to specialize immediately after your 1 year residency? I heard that you have to wait a certain minimum amount of years between residencies.

yes, you can, but you (generally) still have to wait a year after the AEGD is over before you start.

 

[krmower]

Thanks AirborneDentist. Could you elaborate what you mean exactly by our 4 year of active duty. Like what i'm wondering is what types of stuff should we be doing during active duty that will help us specialize? PM me if needed. thanks

Things like your annual evaluations, accomplishments, awards, deployments, and attitude are types of things that will begin to be weighed more heavily.

 

[Maka]

How difficult is it to get accepted into an Air Force AEGD program?

 

[AFDDS]

How difficult is it to get accepted into an Air Force AEGD program?

The USAF Dental Service has made graduate education one of it's priorities. We went from about 63 AEGD training slots to 85. Over the last few years we have had 115, give or take a few, HPSP grads. HPSP grads are required to apply to an AEGD, but are not required to accept. We have some that don't accept and some that go directly into traditional specialties. According, to the latest figures, almost 100% of those that wanted and AEGD training slot got one. We have made great efforts over the last few years to encourage any HPSP grad that wanted an AEGD program, but didnt' get in one, to accept assignment at a base with specialists to allow for rotations in different specialtes so they can get the training they want.

 

[Prior]

I just wanted to chime in on the AEGD/Specialty discussion. I'm one of those lucky ones AFDDS mentioned accepted to a specialty during the AEGD. I will start the program in 2011. I was asked during my OMFS interviews why I had chosen to do an AEGD before applying to the residency and my answer was pretty simple. I knew I would be a better specialist after becoming a well trained general dentist. This program (the AEGD) is incredible. Don't be fooled, it is tough and you will be challenged but it is worth it. All but one of the specialists in our faculty had completed an AEGD/GPR before their specialty training (the one exception had been a lab tech for 10 years) and these specialists have a great understanding of how their specialty relates to the entire treatment plan for each patient. In the past two weeks we have had two-day seminars in implant placement/restoration and another on CEREC given by the Prosthodontist who runs the largest dental lab in the Air Force. These guys are incredibly knowledgeable and lay out what works, what doesn't, and the research to back it up. How much ortho did you do in dental school? Me...none. I have four ortho cases I'm working on. The oral surgeons have us in on their OR cases. I've sedated more patients than I can count. I am amazed every day. The personal attention is second to none. I literally have every specialist's full attention and input whenever I need it. I know I sound like a recruiting commercial but it's true. Of course there are administrative obligations and you have to have your notes approved like dental school which is annoying but you are practicing under their licenses so it's unavoidable. Nothing is perfect but this has been well worth it. So if you are on the fence or you're not at the top of your class this program can do nothing but improve your odds in gaining acceptance to a specialty program.

 

[AFDDS]

I just wanted to chime in on the AEGD/Specialty discussion. I'm one of those lucky ones AFDDS mentioned accepted to a specialty during the AEGD. I will start the program in 2011. I was asked during my OMFS interviews why I had chosen to do an AEGD before applying to the residency and my answer was pretty simple. I knew I would be a better specialist after becoming a well trained general dentist. This program (the AEGD) is incredible. Don't be fooled, it is tough and you will be challenged but it is worth it. All but one of the specialists in our faculty had completed an AEGD/GPR before their specialty training (the one exception had been a lab tech for 10 years) and these specialists have a great understanding of how their specialty relates to the entire treatment plan for each patient. In the past two weeks we have had two-day seminars in implant placement/restoration and another on CEREC given by the Prosthodontist who runs the largest dental lab in the Air Force. These guys are incredibly knowledgeable and lay out what works, what doesn't, and the research to back it up. How much ortho did you do in dental school? Me...none. I have four ortho cases I'm working on. The oral surgeons have us in on their OR cases. I've sedated more patients than I can count. I am amazed every day. The personal attention is second to none. I literally have every specialist's full attention and input whenever I need it. I know I sound like a recruiting commercial but it's true. Of course there are administrative obligations and you have to have your notes approved like dental school which is annoying but you are practicing under their licenses so it's unavoidable. Nothing is perfect but this has been well worth it. So if you are on the fence or you're not at the top of your class this program can do nothing but improve your odds in gaining acceptance to a specialty program.

Prior,
Thanks for posting. I think I may recognize you. Glad you are enjoying your program.