Maintaining the authorized number of military dentists helps ensure the dental readiness of the armed forces. In 1982, military dentists earned about 82 percent as much as their private-sector counterparts and served an average 11.8 years. By 1996, the pay gap had grown, with military dentists earning only about half as much as those in private practice, and the expected length of service had slumped to 7.4 years. Congress and the Pentagon have taken steps since then to improve compensation for military dentists. But recruiting and retaining an adequate number of dentists to meet the military's needs remains a challenge.
Dentists leaving military service most frequently cite poor pay as their reason for mustering out.
Dentists also play important roles at other federal agencies, including the U.S. Public Health Service, Indian Health Service, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Centers for Disease Control and the federal civil service. Facilities such as the Great Lakes Naval Dental Research Institute conduct scientific investigations that are essential to improving military dentistry's ability to meet the needs of the armed forces. The unique nature of oral health and dental care calls for a separate, expert focus, and the ADA believes that appropriate federal agencies should create and maintain leadership positions for staff who are trained as dentists. The Indian Health Service has for 45 years made steady progress in building a system of oral health care delivery for American Indians and Alaskan Natives. But the IHS has had trouble recruiting and retaining dentists in recent years, because the average starting salary for an IHS dentist is considerably less than that of a dentist in private practice.