Dental corps aims to stem shortage

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Julie Weckerlein
  • Air Force News Service
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  It may be a tooth and nail struggle for the Air Force to keep its dentists, but its dental service is dedicated to providing expert care to Airmen worldwide, said the director of the Air Force Dental Corps here recently.

"I think Airmen need to know that we are committed to providing them the dental services they need, no matter what," said Col. Grant Hartup, who's also chief of the Air Force Medical Service Force Sustainment Division out of Bolling Air Force Base here. "It's an important benefit."

Air Force Recruiting Service has struggled in recent years to recruit dental officers, a trend for nearly a decade. While the goal is to recruit about 150 new dental officers a year, only about 120 come in. Retention has also been difficult, with just 35 percent of dentists remaining in the military after their initial service commitment.

These statistics aren't very surprising to Col. Hartup, who said the corps is using every incentive and scholarship resource they've got to appeal to dentists in a competitive market.

"We're part of a society that's very bottom-line oriented," he said. "It's easy to look at the civilian side of dentistry and see it as being very lucrative. But there are a lot of hidden benefits to being a dentist in the Air Force, and our goal is to try and flush those out to make the option more appealing." 

One example that does not  show in the bottom line is the opportunity to attend one of the service's residency programs, which are among the finest in the world, the colonel said.

In an effort to both recruit and retain dentists in the service, the corps is looking to expand programs already offered, such as special pays and bonuses as well as scholarship incentives.

The Health Professions Scholarship Program is one example of a scholarship that can go to anyone, including enlisted Airmen, who has a bachelor's degree and is selected for dental school. It is good for a three- or four-year period and covers tuition and required fees needed for study to become a dentist.

"We are always excited when an enlisted Airman, particularly from the dental field, decides to become a dentist," Colonel Hartup said. "They know the Air Force, they know the culture, and they understand it."

He said knowing about the Air Force culture, and the dental corps' role in it, is important.

"A lot of people don't realize that Air Force dentists deploy," he said. "So much of what we see in deployed locations is things like disease and non-battle injuries. These include the typical dental issues, like root canals or cavities. Dentists are truly some of the busiest people while deployed, and they also play other important roles in expeditionary medical support."

Colonel Hartup said he also draws attention to the professional development, career opportunities and experiences one could have that wouldn't be attainable in the civilian market. He often uses himself as the example.

"When I came in the dental service, I was absolutely not interested in a career," he said. "I thought I'd do one tour and be gone. But then, I was offered the chance to go to (Royal Air Force) Lakenheath in England, which I enjoyed. Then I was offered the opportunity to teach, which is always something I wanted to do. The Air Force consistently has given me opportunities to grow."

It is a sentiment he has heard from several dentists in the field who have made the Air Force a career.

"This is a great corps to grow up in," he said. "While the (recruiting and retention) numbers may be down, the quality of our dentists is very high."