The U. S. Coast Guard (USCG) has 28 clinics located along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific Coasts, including Alaska and Puerto Rico.  Dental officers provide a variety of procedures to meet the 11 Congressionally mandated missions. Missions include national defense, expeditionary, homeland security, maritime safety/maritime security, protection of natural resources and maritime mobility in addition to our contingency medical support.

The USCG has the highest retention rate of dentists of all of the uniformed services.

The USCG is currently recruiting for dental Officers and sponsoring seats in Prosthodontics, Comprehensive Dentistry and Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery. Tours of duty are three to five years dependent upon duty station location.  Officers completing residency programs incur a time-in service obligation of three months for every one month of sponsored education for the first year then, a month-to-month obligation for each following year.  For example, a two-year residency will incur a four-year service obligation.

Dental officers are eligible for military benefits to include but not limited to paid vacation time, accession bonuses and incentive pay.

If interested in joining our program, you must first be commissioned by the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS). 

For additional information, please contact CAPT Stephanie Burrell (Stephanie.M.Burrell@uscg.mil) or CAPT Carol Wong (Carol.J.Wong@uscg.mil).

Information regarding Military Pay Rates can be obtained at: https://usphs.gov/profession/dentist/compensation.aspx.   

Your military pay will include the following:      

Basic Allowance Housing (BAH): This varies based on the area of your duty station and whether you are single or married and have children.

Special Pay for Dental Officers: 

• Health Professions Special Pays (HPSP): All dental officers receive this. It is based on years in service and rank
• Incentive Pay: Dental officers who are health professionals in a specialty listed under the HPSP Rate Schedule receive this. It is based on years of service only.
• Retention Bonus (RB): Only those dentists with a 2-year AGPR/AEGD, other specialty residency, or ACP receive this. It is based on length of the contract you sign – 2, 3, 4 years.
• Board Certification Incentive Pay: Those dentists with board certification receive this. It is based on years of service only.