Whether you are in the Army, Navy, or Air Force, this information in this blog post will provide you with clarifying information on navigating the first year in the military. This blog post is written from the perspective of myself, a third-year LT Navy general dentist with the added insights of CDR Charlie Cage, DDS, MS, who served as AEGD Assistant Director at Navy Medical Center San Diego. If you are in the Army or Air Force, there may be similarities but I recommend talking with your prospective branch PGY-1 director. In this blog post, I’ll detail the three pathways you can choose as a first-year dentist in the military along with the pros/cons.
I'll share my experience briefly as an example.
I commissioned as a LT/O-3 on June 12th, 2022 which was the day I graduated from UCSF School of Dentistry. I submitted a preference of credentialing tour in San Diego, Great Lakes, and Connecticut and was lucky to receive 2 year orders to complete a credentialing tour in SD. (For statistics and curiosity purposes, there were 3 Navy dentists in my UCSF class. Two of us got our #1 preference, 1 did not).
I completed 5 weeks of ODS and Navy Medicine training and then checked into NMRTC SD- 32nd St Dental Branch Clinic in July 2022. For my first year in the credentialing tour, my job was very readiness driven as we had many ships getting ready to deploy. This results in the majority of the work encompassing exams, fillings, and sick call (ER triage). During my second year, I moved to MCRD for the summer where I had a chance to support the Marine Recruit Summer Surge and there had an opportunity to do crowns, extractions, and fillings. When I returned to my main clinic in the 2nd year, I was lucky to find mentorship that supported my learning in implants, CAD/CAM crowns, and endo. I was proud to have earned and maintained my supplemental privilege in posterior implant crown restorations and single unit CAD/CAM restorations. (Yes- in the Navy, as a general dentist, you'll need to receive privileges to complete additional complex restorative and surgical procedures)
Each Navy Dental Corps PGY1 program consists of a small cohort (anywhere from 3-7 new doctors in a program).
Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) located in San Diego, Great Lakes, Norfolk/Portsmouth, Bethesda.
Pros
Access to state of the art digital dentistry technology and workflow ie. EXOCAD, CADCAM, zirconia and emax milling machines
Scheduled 2 week rotations in every specialty (Endo, OS, Perio, Prosth, Ortho, Oral Pathology)
Funding for military related experiences ie. 1 week C4 training or TCCC
Specialized mentorship and training in
aesthetic restorative cases and prosth ie. restoring VDO, full mouth erosion cases
implant crowns
limited ortho treatment
advantage to be a competitive Navy Specialty applicant
Cons
similar to 5th year of dental school with literature reviews, case presentations, exams
neutral year (does not count as pay back)
Program led by one comprehensive and one operative dentist complemented with a full team of specialists (you have an all star team of clinicians training you)
General Practice Residency (GPR) located in San Diego, Portsmouth, Bethesda.
Pros
Surgical and hospital based program
Great stepping stone if you are interested in OS, Perio, Peds, Endo
Rotate through peds, anesthesiology, and OS
Learn how to treat medically complex patients in hospital setting (likely treat dependents and children)
Funding for military related experiences ie. 1 week C4 training
Cons
Neutral payback year
Program led by one comprehensive and one operative dentist complemented with a full team of specialists (you have an all star team of clinicians training you)
Credentialing Tour located in 29 Palms, Great Lakes, Camp Lejune, and Paris Island
Pros
Counts as payback year
Potential rotation in OS/Endo
Quickest path if your goal is to do 4 year minimum commitment
Cons
Often mission readiness focused. Your clinical experience can vary on the needs of the clinic.
At baseline, you will do exams and fillings. Depending on your supervisor, there can be (but not guaranteed) to be opportunities in CAD/CAM, implants, endo, and OS.
Program led by one credentialing manager (often a collateral duty of a more senior general dentist or specialist)
One commonality among PGY1 students no matter if you are in AEGD, GPR, or credentialing tour is that every first year LT will stand watch at the clinic/hospital. It is of course inconvenient, and sometimes even anxiety provoking. However, I will say, I learned how to manage dental emergencies and gain trust in my decision making to help patients get out of pain on a short-term notice.
You will take turns rotating with your co-hort and likely be assigned to cover some holiday shifts. Don't be surprised if you get awakened by the duty phone at 2 AM to do an emergency pulpectomy for a service member - it's a christening that happens to many of us in the Navy!
For more information: refer to the Navy's Graduate Dental Program page.
DISCLAIMER
The views expressed in this website are those of Dr. Jenny Giao and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, nor the U.S. Government. The contents in this website are for informational purposes only.
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