i am an active duty dentist, ask questions

[TobyKeithFan]

Hello,

I'm an AD Army general dentist, if you have any questions or concerns please ask.

I am not a recruiter, DENCOM nor OTSG staffer.

I will tell you about my experiences (mostly bad, but some good).

I will remain as anonymous as possible.

Don't ask me anything that will give away my identity.

I am sure someone in San Antonio is watching.

I look forward to answering your questions.

Toby Keith Rules!

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[Regmata]

Did you do a residency?

What is so bad about it?

 

[dheav005]

i think the thread for this is called "ask an army dentist".

im just sayin'...

 

[pmoney]

Dr. TobyKeith,

Thanks for signing up here. I'm sure all of us, dental students, dentists in the military and in private practice will benefit from another AD dentist on this board.

I will be sure to shoot you some questions via PM if I do have any that come up.

Thanks for your service.

 

[TobyKeithFan]

Did you do a residency?

What is so bad about it?

probably the worst part is lack of vertical growth.

i do exams, sick call, restorative, simple OS, and RCT. no chance to do fixed nor removable work. granted there are many doing prostho but there are also many that are not. i worry about when i get out.

from my experience, as a 63A one year aegd training or not, you don't have much say about what you get to do. it depends on the clinic's mission and the OIC's comfort level or work ethic.

at my post, we have AIT students, so we can't do anything that requires time. as mentioned above, i do their exams, sick call (mostly pulpectomies), and large excavations. all other routine work (oper, OS, RCT, prostho) for permanent party and students we refer off-post. this is our mission.

i hoping for a more challenging assignment next time.

i hope that no one is offended by this post. just relating my experience so far. if you are, i'll just have to put a boot in your you know what!

Toby Keith

 

[krmower]

Hello,

I'm an AD Army general dentist, if you have any questions or concerns please ask.

I am not a recruiter, DENCOM nor OTSG staffer.

I will tell you about my experiences (mostly bad, but some good).

I will remain as anonymous as possible.

Don't ask me anything that will give away my identity.

I am sure someone in San Antonio is watching.

I look forward to answering your questions.

Toby Keith Rules!

What's wrong with being an OTSG staffer?

 

[TobyKeithFan]

What's wrong with being an OTSG staffer?

oh absolutely nothing!

as a matter of fact, the admin people i've met so far have been quite professional and nice.

other than professional dentistry growth, i have been treated fairly well except for the one oic i worked for. i sometimes consider staying in, but when i think of this person and how bad we were treated, i can't risk working for someone like that again.

anyways, in my limited knowledge of the inner workings of dencom and army med, i think you guys are watching out for us pretty well. i wish you had more power to get rid of the malignant, lazy bad apples in our corps.

please don't investigate me, i don't need anymore headaches.

Mr. Toby Keith

 

[krmower]

oh absolutely nothing!

as a matter of fact, the admin people i've met so far have been quite professional and nice.

other than professional dentistry growth, i have been treated fairly well except for the one oic i worked for. i sometimes consider staying in, but when i think of this person and how bad we were treated, i can't risk working for someone like that again.

anyways, in my limited knowledge of the inner workings of dencom and army med, i think you guys are watching out for us pretty well. i wish you had more power to get rid of the malignant, lazy bad apples in our corps.

please don't investigate me, i don't need anymore headaches.

Mr. Toby Keith

Ohhh...I don't like that term "admin people" I still like to consider myself a dentist on a "brief side-trip".

Yes you are correct there are those that are less desireable in the Army - but they are also present in dental schools, private practice, and in the world in general. That's why those like yourself that see the need for change are important. Stay in so you can make a difference.

I guarantee somewhere in life you will run into someone like that again, it is unfortunate when they are in charge - but they won't be forever.

 

[umkcdds]

sounds like you are at Aberdeen Proving Grounds.

i worked there for about a month, this past summer.

 

[pmoney]

probably the worst part is lack of vertical growth.

i do exams, sick call, restorative, simple OS, and RCT. no chance to do fixed nor removable work. granted there are many doing prostho but there are also many that are not. i worry about when i get out.

from my experience, as a 63A one year aegd training or not, you don't have much say about what you get to do. it depends on the clinic's mission and the OIC's comfort level or work ethic.

at my post, we have AIT students, so we can't do anything that requires time. as mentioned above, i do their exams, sick call (mostly pulpectomies), and large excavations. all other routine work (oper, OS, RCT, prostho) for permanent party and students we refer off-post. this is our mission.

i hoping for a more challenging assignment next time.

i hope that no one is offended by this post. just relating my experience so far. if you are, i'll just have to put a boot in your you know what!

Toby Keith

Would you recommend ranking postings where there is a permanent clinic with an actual unit based there instead of a location that might be more of a training facility? In order to avoid the kind of 'rut' you might have gotten stuck in without doing a lot of variety of cases?

 

[yakuza]

I'm signing up for Army HPSP but I'm doing it for the benefits/money, and not because I want to work for the army. Would you recommend this? Also here's a some questions if you can answer them plz.

1. Did you get a set list of stations you got to choose from?
2. Is it first come first serve?
3. When you picked the station, were you 100% guaranteed to be stationed there?
4. Do you have to house on the station?
5. How much do you make?
6. What are your work hours?
7. What do you do when you don't work?
8. Do you feel comfortable/experienced enough to open your own private practice immediately after your 4 yrs are done in the military

 

[Kabek]

I'm signing up for Army HPSP but I'm doing it for the benefits/money, and not because I want to work for the army. Would you recommend this?

Please don't join for those reasons, our soldiers deserve better.

 

[yakuza]

Please don't join for those reasons, our soldiers deserve better.

I'm not indicating that I dislike working for the military, neither would I hate it. I'm joining because I wouldn't mind doing it. A dentist is a dentist and I would perform on a soldier the same as a civilian, my best. So the point of your comment is?

 

[jmick101]

So the point of your comment is?

You asked right?

You wondered if you should do the HPSP even though you really don't want to work for the Army. He says no because the last thing the Army needs is another disgruntled commissioned officer dentist. Think he might know what he's talking about?

I recommend that you do this, search inside and see if there isn't some semblance of patriotism lurking in there, some little corner of Sparta hanging around. See if there isn't some desire to put on the uniform and roll in the mud, shoot guns, and maybe get yelled at a bit. Not that you will actually do this in much in the Army. By the way, do you even agree with what the military is doing overseas? Better figure that one out before you sign on the dotted line.

If you honestly cannot muster up some patriotic feeling then seriously, do something else. Do you realize the sacrifice some of our troops are making? I have friends who have done 3 tours overseas and still re-enlist, friends who have been blown up, who have lost limbs. And they are supposed to get treatment from someone who doesn't even want to be there?

The point of Kabek's post is clear: someone who is only there for the money is not worthy.

I don't mean this to be harsh, it just needs to be said. By the way, most of your questions can be answered in the Ask An Army Dentist thread.

 

[Californian]

can I join military dental school if I am not US citizen? But I am a permenent resident (green card holder)
I am eligible to become a US citizen within 3years.

 

[krmower]

can I join military dental school if I am not US citizen? But I am a permenent resident (green card holder)

There is not a military dental school. You may attend any dental school you get accpeted to and the Army will pay for it if you receive the scholarship. Current Army policy requires Officers to be US Residents - therefore currently only US Citizens can apply for the scholarship.

A pilot program is in the process of beginning that will allow non-US citizens that have a DMD/DDS to apply to become an officer - but this is not the case until you have the degree, and it is not known how long the program will run for.

 

[Californian]

thank you. i guess i cant apply then.