Dentist AL GA

Eager to cut your teeth on an adventurous career? Practicing dentistry doesn’t have to mean being stuck in your hometown. If you’re in the Navy, your job can take you almost anywhere. Get started by performing routine dental work on Sailors and Marines in a large teaching hospital, then travel the world assisting with humanitarian aid efforts, or help Sailors keep their smiles healthy on ships like aircraft carriers.

When you couple that with a flexible schedule and freedom from costs like malpractice insurance and office equipment, it’s clear you won’t find a dental job like this anywhere else.

Navy Dentists can enjoy an accelerated career experience working at the best military dental facilities on shore, at sea and in the field. Specifically, you may be called upon to:

• Practice basic dentistry on military service members and their families, including checkups, cavity fillings and preventive care
• Work with cutting-edge dental technology, such as digital X-ray systems and innovative dental restoration materials
• Participate in domestic outreach to the young, elderly and underprivileged
• Join humanitarian missions to introduce oral care to parts of the world in need

Navy Dental Corps Officers may serve at any one of more than 250 Navy and medical facilities around the globe, from Hawaii to Japan, Germany to Guam, and Washington, D.C., to Washington state. As a Navy Dentist, you could work at one of the highly acclaimed National Naval Medical Centers in Bethesda, MD, Portsmouth, VA, or San Diego, CA. Or you could provide medical support aboard one of two dedicated hospital ships—the USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy.

Additional opportunities are available on surface ships, with aircraft squadrons, or even with the Fleet Marine Force.

Upon graduating from dental school, those pursuing a Dentist position are required to attend Officer Development School (ODS) in Newport, RI. ODS is a five-week program that provides a comprehensive and intense introduction to the responsibilities of Navy Staff Corps Officers. Here you will learn about the military structure of the U.S. Navy, its rich history of traditions and customs, leadership development and military etiquette.

For your initial tour of duty, you could be assigned to a multi-specialty dental clinic or a large teaching hospital. This could be followed by an operational assignment with the Navy Construction Battalion (“Seabees”) or Fleet Marine Forces (FMF). However, other assignments are possible.

Advanced Training Opportunities

After the conclusion of your first tour, you become eligible to pursue specialized training “tracks” in the areas of Administration, Clinical Training, Operational Training and Education.

Many Dentists choose to pursue specialization through clinical residency training. This allows you to become an expert in a particular field of dentistry, such as Endodontics, Prosthodontics and others. Most specialties require a minimum of two years of additional training after dental school. Specialties include:

• Advanced Clinical Programs – Exodontia
• Advanced Clinical Programs – General
• Comprehensive Dentistry
• Endodontics
• Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Oral Pathology
• Orofacial Pain
• Orthodontics
• Pediatric Dentistry
• Periodontics
• Prosthodontics
• Public Health Dentistry

Promotion opportunities are regularly available but competitive and based on performance.

Post-Service Opportunities

It’s also important to note that specialized training received and work experience gained in the course of service can lead to valuable credentialing and occupational opportunities in the field of dentistry.

Wherever you are in your dental career, the Navy can help ease your financial burdens and advance your career with generous scholarships, financial assistance and continuing education programs. Plus, if you’re a student or resident, you can concentrate on your education or training with no military/training obligation until after your program is completed.

Dental Students

Through the Navy Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) you could receive full tuition coverage for the cost of dental school and related expenses. Additionally, through the Navy…