The application of dental technologies and techniques developed for unique military requirements being applied to civilian dentistry also is creating a positive loop that eventually returns to DENCOM.

“The Army is the only place you will find public service dentists and pathology dentists, not only filling the ranks of the Army Dental Command, but, when they retire, becoming teachers to build the next generation,” Hale noted. “All of our dentists come from civilian institutions – the Army does not have a dental school – then are trained through specific [Army] courses on the requirements of a dental officer. That is a series of study, from junior to senior officers, that includes leadership, integration, logistics of the whole Army and how we fit in it.

“If a general dentist found himself in a combat environment without that training, he would be lost in the system and probably ineffective – including how to protect himself and function in a combat situation, which is as important as anything. Your basic general dentist is concerned about keeping the customer happy, where our emphasis is on far-forward tactical treatment of the soldier’s mouth. We also are concerned about aesthetics and happiness, but we put on boots and go into the field to deal with combat problems – including some dentists who have wound up in Level One care.”

Army combat dentists are a unique part of both the command and combat structure, with a greater role in both than their counterparts in the other U.S. services.

“The [U.S.] Navy and Air Force have the same military bearing, but their dentists work under medical officers. We do not. In some cases, Army medical officers may work under dental officers,” Hale said. “So we have a broader look at the executive role than just, ‘Your job is to fix teeth.’”

That difference is even more dramatic when looking at the status of dentists in the militaries of other nations.

“I was a presenter in Afghanistan for what then was the International Security Assistance Force, speaking to dental officers from all coalition forces,” he recalled. “There were a hundred or so dental officers there, but when I walked in, the room went silent – because I was the only one there with a weapon on my hip. They are unarmed, but we are considered soldiers in battle; we get the same training as basic soldiers to protect ourselves and our patients.”

Added Colthirst: “Dental officers, first and foremost, are soldiers, with a unique set of skills. We have to be physically fit and mentally tough to go where the soldiers go and provide the level of service they need.”

But that is only part of what sets modern Army dentists apart, Hale continued.

“We’re called dental officers and leaders in the Army community, not only because of our uniform, but because of the very specialized training we receive and our place in the command structure. The soldiers feel like we have their backs, we are their advocates, advising their commanders on things related to dentistry and the face in general. And wherever they go, we go. At all levels – even special ops units have dental officers embedded,” he said.

“The profession of dentistry was first seriously considered because the Army wanted licensed, certified dentists just prior to World War I. We had expeditionary forces going to Mexico with [Gen. John J.] ‘Black Jack’ Pershing, who always had a contract dentist along who was not adequate. So when he returned, Pershing told Congress he wanted professional dentists, not just what then were ‘barber-dentists.’ So the Army is the biggest and oldest in that role in the military.”

The advanced dental care provided not only to soldiers, but also to Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force personnel – especially in terms of combat dentistry since 9/11 – evolved in large measure from the 1991 creation of a tri-service science and research group focused on developing new technologies and procedures to reduce lost duty time caused by dental disease or trauma. According to a history compiled by Williams, the collaboration of what then was the Army Dental Research Detachment with the Naval Dental Research Institute and Air Force Dental Evaluation and Consultation Service began when the three moved to Great Lakes, Ill., as part of the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC).

“Areas of research emphasis included methods to reduce disease-causing dental plaque in conjunction with military rations; epidemiology of dental disease and trauma; rapid diagnostic aids; field-expedient preventive technologies; smaller, lighter and less energy-consuming dental field equipment and sterilization; environment-insensitive dental materials; efficacy testing of dental materials and equipment; disposal of mercury contaminated water in deployed situations and technologies to reduce the morbidity and mortality of oral and maxillofacial trauma, especially through the use of lightweight personal armor,” Williams wrote.