Both at home in Canada and overseas when deployed on operations, their practice includes all aspects of preventive dentistry and the provision of dental treatment for oral diseases, injuries, and defects of the teeth and their supporting structures.

Dental Officers are commissioned members of the Canadian Forces Dental Services. As a Dental Officer, your primary duty will be to practise dentistry in the military milieu. In the Canadian Forces, both at home in Canada and overseas when deployed on operations, your practice will include all aspects of preventive dentistry and the provision of dental treatment for oral diseases, injuries, and defects of the teeth and their supporting structures. You may also be asked to assist other health care personnel when your particular skills are required, and to teach subjects in which you have received post-graduate training.

The Canadian Forces requires a special kind of professional: a physically fit individual who is socially adaptable and ready for the unusual and the unexpected. At the same time, he or she must be professionally versatile and capable of leadership in a variety of environments, both in Canada and overseas.

Formal Qualifications

You must meet Canadian Forces medical standards, and successfully complete a selection process that includes interviews and a wide range of examinations. If you are a qualified dentist holding a valid, current licence to practise in a Canadian province or territory, you are eligible for direct entry as a Dental Officer, with the following benefits:

• A salary comparable to the after-expenses income of a civilian practitioner, and generous benefits, including:
  • Participation in the Canadian Forces pension plan
  • 20 working days of vacation per year, increasing to 25 working days in the fifth year of service
  • Free medical and dental care
  • Maternity and parental leave in accordance with government-wide provisions
• No overhead:
  • - Office space and support services are provided
  • - Licensing fees are paid
  • - Costs of professional development and training are covered

If you have been accepted by the faculty of dentistry at an accredited Canadian university, you are eligible for the Dental Officer Training Plan (DOTP), which offers the following benefits:

• Full reimbursement of tuition fees and educational expenses, including books, instruments and supplies, student union fees and registration costs
• An annual salary ranging from $40,000 to $52,000, with generous benefits, including:
  • Participation in the Canadian Forces pension plan
  • 20 working days of vacation time per year, increasing to 25 working days in the fifth year of service
  • Free medical and dental care
  • Maternity and parental leave in accordance with government-wide provisions
• DOTP candidates receive full pay and allowances throughout their training and, after three years of service, may be eligible for post-graduate study at an accredited university in Canada, the United States or overseas.

On successful completion of your dentistry program, you will be required to serve for four years in the Canadian Forces as a Dental Officer.

The Canadian Forces actively supports Dental Officers’ efforts to develop and maintain clinical skills in all aspects of dentistry. To that end, you will be given many opportunities for subsidized training on an annual basis — for example, attendance at conferences.

There are two options after graduation:

You can expect to spend your first four years of service (after training) in a dental clinic and to be promoted in accordance with your performance and your standing in comparison with your peers, gradually progressing to positions of increased responsibility and authority. At first, you will probably work in a group practice; after a year or two of experience, you could go to a small one-dentist clinic or could be attached to a Field unit for a few years where you would be doing both. Dental treatment on a part time basis and gaining experience on operational role of the CF.

When your obligatory service (if any) is completed, you may choose to be honourably released; however, if you decide to pursue a dental career in the Canadian Forces, you will be eligible for post-graduate training.

Specialization and Post-Graduate Education

The Canadian Forces subsidizes Dental Officers who wish to specialize in oral surgery, prosthodontics, periodontics, public health or Advanced general dentistry. You will be eligible to apply for post-graduate education after three years of service as a Dental Officer. All postgraduate education taken at public expense incurs further obligatory service, at the rate of two years of service for each year of sponsored education, to a maximum of five years for a single qualification, on top of any original service obligation.

Wherever other CF members are sent, Dental Officers may also be sent, so you face a myriad of potential working conditions. Most of your time will be spent in garrison or on a base or wing, but you will also be expected to deploy. When serving overseas on operations, you will work and live in the same conditions as the other members of your unit, which can range from the semi-industrial setting of an airfield to the confines of a warship or the challenges of a tented camp in a developing country.

Although your daily work in garrison or on a base or wing will require little physical effort, you will be expected to meet the CF minimum standard for physical fitness. Whatever your assignment, you will have every opportunity to keep fit and participate in both team sports and individual activities.

Appropriate training, environmental clothing and equipment are provided, and Dental Officers’ health, safety and morale are closely monitored.