The 60th Dental Squadron of Travis Air Force Base partnered with the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine during a two-day symposium May 20-21, 2026, to provide Air Force dental residents hands-on training in canine dentistry and military working dog (MWD) care.

The training expanded military dental residents’ ability to identify and treat oral health conditions in MWDs, whose dental readiness directly impacts their ability to support force protection and detection operations across the Department of the Air Force.

The symposium addressed a military-specific training requirement not commonly found in civilian dental education, according to U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Andrew W. Ellis, 60th Dental Squadron Dental Residency Flight commander and Advanced Education in General Dentistry program director.

“Air Force dentistry has unique, operational training requirements that simply do not exist in civilian dental schools or residency programs,” said Ellis. “Military dentists must be ready to sustain combat power, which includes treating active-duty service members as well as our military working dogs.”

UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine hosted and led the symposium for military health care personnel from Travis Air Force Base. Faculty from the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital’s Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service provided lectures, wet labs and hands-on instruction in canine dental radiography, radiographic interpretation, surgical extractions and endodontic therapy.

“Dental radiography is essential because many important dental diseases occur below the gumline and are not visible during an oral examination alone,” said Dr. Maria Soltero-Rivera, associate professor with the Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine. “Radiographs allow clinicians to diagnose fractured teeth, endodontic disease, periodontal bone loss, retained roots and other bone or tooth root pathology that could compromise the health, comfort and operational performance of military working dogs.”

During the two-day event, participants received instruction in canine dental radiography, surgical extraction techniques, local anesthetic nerve blocks, root canal therapy, transcoronal access, canal instrumentation, obturation and restoration of strategic working teeth.

Read full article from Defense Visual Information Distribution Service