Dental Corps

Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Robert K. Bogart
Commander, 711th Human Performance Wing

Graphic of the Air Force Dental Service Logo

The Air Force Dental Service strives to develop and care for people to optimize their potential, sustain a ready force through innovation and highly trained dental professionals, and support the warfighter by utilizing relevant technologies, ideas and processes.

As a Service, we are entrusted to ensure active duty, reserve, and guard Airmen and Guardians are dentally ready to perform their duties in deployed environments and in-garrison - free of dental pain with an extremely low probability of requiring urgent dental treatment.

Additionally, our members support various roles and missions to meet the requirements for rotational and short-notice expeditionary deployments, as well as Medical Contingency Responses Plans at in-garrison facilities. The Air Force Dental Service’s readiness contributions are critical to Total Force Full Spectrum Readiness.

Mission: Maximize readiness through oral health

Vision: The world’s premier dental service

Motto: Premier dental care - anytime, anywhere

AFMEDCOM / SGD address:
7700 Arlington Blvd, Suite 5157, Falls Church, Virginia 22042-5101

Email: Dental Corps

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LEARN MORE ABOUT HEALTHCARE CAREERS

Capt. Eileen Welch, 60th DS advanced education in general dentistry resident, uses the inter oral digital scan for a cerec cad/cam crown May 2 at Travis Air Force Base, California. The patient is treated by using the crown that went through several steps in the dental clinic before it was placed on the patient's tooth. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Amber Carter)

Dental health isn’t just about routine care - it’s about preventing pain, infection, or loss of function that could weaken operational ability and readiness.

The Air Force Dental Service is dedicated to ensuring the dental readiness of the Air Force and Space Force’s active duty, Reserve, and Guard members.

Our mission is to provide innovative, expeditionary Airmen and Guardians to support global operations and ensure a dentally fit force through Trusted Care.

They focus on preventing, treating, and preparing for dental care to maintain the health and readiness of service members.

The service is integral to Total Force Full Spectrum Readiness, contributing to the overall health and well-being of the Air Force community.

These efforts, among other care options, help to serve the primary mission of the Air Force Medical Service: Maximizing readiness.

APPLY NOW TO JOIN THE DENTAL CORPS

Dental officers deploy in theater in support of war-time or peace-time contingency missions, provide essential care, and stabilize and facilitate evacuation of service members to higher echelons of care for definitive treatment.

Our dental teams also deploy on humanitarian missions to provide critical dental care in impoverished areas or in regions affected by natural or man-made disasters.

Through a range of preventive care and emergency treatment services, dental teams are essential to humanitarian missions and joint operations, delivering care in remote and underserved areas worldwide. These efforts enhance readiness, strengthen partner nation healthcare systems, and foster resilience through expertise sharing and collaboration with local providers.

By working side-by-side with our counterparts, efforts to enhance interoperability and strengthen the collective ability to respond to medical challenges are achieved.

“The Dental Mission is to drive Total Force readiness via both a medically ready force and ensuring current and ready medics. Our success is powered by an integrated highly functional team.”

– U.S. Air Force Brig. Robert K. Bogart, Corps Chief and Commander, 711th Human Performance Wing

It’s our mission to provide our Airmen and their families with the best healthcare possible, so we’re constantly seeking to add more of the best healthcare professionals to our team. From general dentistry to highly focused subspecialties, there are dozens of exciting healthcare careers in the U.S. Air Force.

Healthcare professionals in the Air Force provide the highest-quality care by staying on top of the latest innovations within our field.

Dental Core Specialties
- Dentist
  - Advanced Clinical
  - Comprehensive
  - Dental Materials
  - Dental Research
  - General Clinical
  - Public Health
  - Orofacial Pain
  - Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology
  - Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
- Endodontics
- Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
  - Cosmetics
  - Maxillofacial Reconstruction
  - Temporomandibular Joint
  - Trauma
- Orthodontics
- Pediatric Dentistry
- Periodontics
- Prosthodontics
  - Area Dental Laboratory
  - Maxillofacial Prosthetics

Qualifications
As a dental officer, you’ll be able to expand your profession in a variety of Air Force dental specialties, as well as pursue career-broadening opportunities, including serving on the teaching staff in support of residency programs, clinical leadership, or staff positions at higher headquarters.

To qualify, you must:
- Be a U.S. citizen
- Be between the ages of 18 and 48
- Graduate with a Doctor of Dental Surgery or a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from an American Dental Association accredited college or university
- Hold a state license to practice dentistry in the United States
- Meet Air Force moral and physical requirements
- Be able to obtain the appropriate security clearance level
- Complete Officer Training School (five-eight week training program at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama)
Military treatment facilities range from outpatient clinics and major medical centers on Air Force bases to deployed mobile hospital units in combat environments and remote locations.

Note: See your recruiter for additional qualifications needed in your specialty.

Health Professions Scholarship Program
If you’re currently in dental school or plan to be, you may qualify for the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program. It covers tuition, fees, books and laboratory expenses. You’ll also receive a monthly allowance for living expenses.

When you graduate, you’ll have an opportunity to attend the one-year Advanced Education in General Dentistry, or AEGD-1, residency program at no cost to you. AEGD-1 is designed to expand the scope and depth of your knowledge and skills and enable you to provide comprehensive patient care to a wide range of population groups.

Upon completion of the residency, you’ll owe the Air Force a minimum active duty obligation for each year of your HPSP scholarship. We currently offer two-to-four-year scholarships and those are a year-for-year payback. If attend the AEGD-1, your active duty commitment will begin after you graduate from that program. This education opportunity is a neutral year. If you are not selected for an AEGD-1, your service payback will begin upon graduation from dental school. See your recruiter for more information on the HPSP.