Army and Air Force HPSP

[Dadoh]

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DaDoh,

So I am going to a state school. Ill have about 180 thousand out for dschool and then I'll have about 40-42 thousand for my grad school loans....yes i know not to do military just for the money and there is a part of me that wants to serve but then again there is a part of me that wants complete control.....i mean i could pay loans for 10 years and still live fairly well (im thinkin id pay about 30,000 a year in loans if I chose the civilian route. I already turned down the Navy because I didn't want to be at sea for long periods of time. I didn't apply to air force because the recruiter was a d***
and now I only have the Army to choose. I have a dentist that is interested in selling me his practice when I am done with school as well. The fact that he is thinkin about that makes me wonder if I should do the military. All of the old dentists I have shadowed have told me that its an awesome experience to be a dentist in the military. I just don't know. I feel frustrated because every time i find a negative there is a positive and everytime I find a positive there is a negative. I know that I'm not all gun ho to join which makes me think I should not join. Yes it would be nice to only have to pay back for 4 years instead of ten. Good Lord now I'm really confused again....Not to worry I do this on a daily basis on whether not I should join...


Just to throw this out there, I'm meeting the commander of the army dental corps on Wednesday at OSU. I mean I know he'll be very positive about everything but I think itd still be cool to visit with him.

There will be alot of dentists that will want to sell to you. That is a problem that dentists are having right now. The market isn't good for selling dental practices right now. I would say that you have a tough decision in front of you. there have been a few students at might school that kept going back and forth and weren't really sure either way. They decided not to because they weren't 100% certain. There are days that they regret it, but if they chose to do it they would have days when they would've regreted doing it. I would say that if you are not certain I would tend to tell you not to do it, because there is once you have signed there is no wavering and going back. If you don't sign you could always do it the next year. I know someone that did it and then felt stuck in something that she didn't want to do anymore because life's circumstances change. Life's circumstances can change, but you will still have to do your commitment.

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[dentalguy]

There will be alot of dentists that will want to sell to you. That is a problem that dentists are having right now. The market isn't good for selling dental practices right now. I would say that you have a tough decision in front of you. there have been a few students at might school that kept going back and forth and weren't really sure either way. They decided not to because they weren't 100% certain. There are days that they regret it, but if they chose to do it they would have days when they would've regreted doing it. I would say that if you are not certain I would tend to tell you not to do it, because there is once you have signed there is no wavering and going back. If you don't sign you could always do it the next year. I know someone that did it and then felt stuck in something that she didn't want to do anymore because life's circumstances change. Life's circumstances can change, but you will still have to do your commitment.

Well I have pretty much made my decision. I am going to do the army. These are my reasons.

1. School is paid for....no loans for 30 years
2. Great training which will then prepare me to "hit the ground running" when my committment is up.
3. I get to do my part to help our country.
4. My dentist told me he will only be 57 when I'm done with dental school. He said that would be too early for him to retire and 61 or 62 is much more probable for his retirement which would then be when I would take over
5. yes I am a little nervous about where I'll be during that time but who isn't, I think it might be cool living place I would have otherwised not visited as a civilian

Will there be some things I don't like about the military. I am sure there will be. But I have talked to so many dentists about this and I would say 5 of 6 of them have recommended it to me.

Anyone wanna say anything before I call my recruiter on Monday to tell him the news??

 

[burton117]

1. You can do ortho residency. They are getting strict on letting people do it right out of dental school though. The military wants to get their use out of you before you go onto more schooling. In order to do military ortho residency (where they pay for your school and pay you as a captain) you have to be active duty for 2 years as a dentist before the board convenes.

2. There are women (I am one!!!) but there are not as many as there are men. At least that is my experience and I am at a very, very, very large DENTAC.

3. Yes, I am required to wear a uniform to work. That can be either PT uniform, the ACU's (which are really not that bad, heck at least I don't have to dryclean them anymore), or your class B's (no one wears those). When you get to work you can change. I just change into a scrub top. Too much of a pain to change out of the boots.

4. I bring home about $4000 a month after taxes and then I get my yearly bonus which equals out to $2800. I live on that pretty well. I lived on a heck of a lot less when I was in dental school. I don't have as large school loans like many of my classmates do, I don't pay health insurance at all (and when I went on maternity leave...I got 6 weeks paid and I took an additional 2 weeks leave...show me a job that will pay you for maternity leave...not in this country),and about $15,000 yearly of my income is non taxable. I had this one website that showed what you actually take home compared to civilian and it is quite a bit more similar than what first would appear.

5. No pay raise for being deployed...but you are not taxed, so that is a HUGE savings there, you also get some additional pays...Hazardous duty pay, separation pay (that is about $100).


6. YOu can live anywhere you want, to a point. There is a list of places that they Army puts out that you can't live at, but these are places that I would never, ever want to live anyways.

7. If you were deployed, you would do dentistry...Does that mean you will ONLY be doing that...No. You may have to set up a tent, or something like that, but you are dentist and you are the most valuable to the military as a dentist. You are a soldier though too, and there will be times you are doing stuff that has nothing to do with dentistry. I have not been deployed, so sorry I cannot give you a firsthand answer.

8.Knew someone in school that was going on to do the navy scholarship. I have no idea what he is doing.

9. By the way, I get free CE which out there costs a heck of a lot of money. My post is ADA approved and AGD approved for CE credits, so those requireements that my states has for biannual requirments is met. And I don't have to take off work for it either. For example, last friday we had a CE at 0930-1130 on radiology, then one on endo, then on tx planning, and lastly on cariogy.

Can u elaborate on this website or perhaps break down this information a bit more (civilian vs military pay including dental school expense reimbursement) I am very interested in seeing the numbers on this.

Thanks!

 

[kambis]

I am looking to do a pediatric residency and have applied through PASS for the 2007 year. My husband has the opportunity to work in Germany for 2 years. Does anyone know of any pedo residencies in Germany?

Thanks!

 

[dentalguy]

I'm officially a second lieutenant!!!!

 

[jmick101]

I'm officially a second lieutenant!!!!

Congratulations... sir.

 

[Utes]

I'm officially a second lieutenant!!!!

Congrats

 

[tom_servo_dds]

Congratulations... sir.

(laughing about the "sir" part...)

 

[aphistis]

I'm officially a second lieutenant!!!!

Congratulations on becoming, in the words of a favorite drill sergeant, "a grossly overpaid private."

 

[milman]

Does anybody know of any opportunities for military dentists to get cool deployments? Please describe any for army/navy?