GSDM Salutes Alumni Who Serve: Three Alums Share Stories of Military Dentistry for Veteran’s Day
Veterans Day is observed annually on November 11 to honor all who have previously and are currently serving in the United States Armed Forces. The day is also an opportunity to acknowledge military members for their courage, dedication, and sacrifice.
Military dentists play a crucial role in maintaining combat readiness in the different branches of the United States Armed Forces. Some of their key responsibilities include providing preventive/routine oral healthcare and treating dental injuries from combat or training.
For this Veterans Day, GSDM Communications spoke to three GSDM alumni from different branches of the U.S. Armed Forces (Air Force, Navy and Army) about the time with the military.
Patrick Ralph DMD 92: U.S. Air Force
Dental Commander of 307th Medical Group
Being a part of the United States Armed Forces is in Ralph’s DNA: his great-grandfather served in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War; his father was a fireman and photographer in the Navy; his uncle was a dental technician in the Navy; and multiple of his siblings serve in various branches as well.
Ralph first joined the United States Air Force Security Forces after he graduated from high school. He is currently the dental commander of 307th Medical Group at the Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
Being in the military wasn’t Ralph’s sole professional goal. He comes from a big family—one of eight siblings—and oral healthcare was not a priority growing up. His first dentist appointment was at age 11 at a dental office above a supermarket that prioritized pulling teeth instead of treating them. Ralph was distraught at this type of care and made the decision that he had to become a dentist himself to provide better care to others.
He went on to receive his bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the Xavier University of Louisiana in 1988 and his DMD from GSDM in 1992, partly thanks to being a National Health Service Corps loan recipient. (Ralph is a former member of the United States Health Service Corps where he provided pediatric care to underserved communities in New York.) He credits the U.S. military, and particularly his extensive work in the Air Force, for allowing him to achieve his dental dreams.
“Not only has the Air Force given me an avenue to achieve success, but it also has impacted me both psychologically, emotionally, and intellectually,” Ralph said. “I truly believe that as a senior enlisted officer, there’s not anything more that I can attribute to my life other than even say thank you to the military because without it, I wouldn’t have had an education and I don’t think I would’ve had the discipline that that’s required to achieve the success I’ve had.”
Throughout his military career, Ralph said he has made it a priority to educate Air Force personnel on the importance of taking care of themselves holistically, ranging from physical and mental needs, to help make sure they are combat ready.
“The thing that’s always amazing when you see very young airmen come in and they have no clue about oral healthcare and how it affects the rest of the body,” Ralph said.
He has taken this holistic mindset to his civilian job at his pediatric dental practice, Passionate Dental Wellness, in Houston, Texas. Passionate Dental Wellness is Houston’s only pediatric holistic dental practice, meaning the practice focuses on oral health, physical health, and the mental wellbeing of their patients. Despite the clear differences between military and civilian pediatric dentistry, Ralph said everyone should use a holistic mindset for their healthcare.
“In the military, you have to be disciplined, consistent and transparent,” Ralph said. “More importantly, you have to be loyal and have incredible integrity. Those core values that you learned in the military–it all just becomes automatic in your civilian life.”
Kristi Erickson DMD 04: U.S. Navy
Assistant Professor and Operative Specialty Leader
Erickson has moved seven times in a Navy career that’s lasted more than 20 years—and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
She was first commissioned as an ensign in the Navy Reserves via the Health Services Program Scholarship. She entered an inactive status while she completed the four-year DMD program at GSDM. After she graduated in 2004, she was commissioned as a lieutenant and has been in active duty ever since.
Erickson completed a residency in general dentistry at Naval Dental Center Great Lakes in 2005. She went on to become a department head onboard the USS Tortuga (LSD-46) and USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43), running the equivalent of a solo general dental practice, for four years.
In this role, Erickson experienced one of her biggest career highlights: being on the first ship up the Mississippi River to provide healthcare assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“Hurricane Katrina relief was definitely amazing and fulfilling and exemplified the fact that yes, I’m a dentist, but I was [also] a naval officer and a healthcare provider,” Erickson said. “I could work outside of what I’d been trained for and still feel successful.”
She has gone on to serve in numerous roles, including, but not limited to, assistant division officer in the Oral Diagnosis and Restorative Divisions, restorative division officer, and dental clinic department head of USS Osborne and Naval Medical Center Portsmouth assistant director and director of the advanced education in general dentistry program. As of June 2023, Erickson transferred to the Navy Medicine Leadership and Professional Development Command in Bethesda, MD, and joined the staff at the Naval Postgraduate Dental School, also in Bethesda, as a member of their full-time faculty. She teaches operative dentistry to endodontic, prosthodontic, and general dental residents.
Erickson said there are many reasons why she enjoys being a U.S. Navy dental office, but she said her patients are the primary one. She is thankful that she can provide much needed dental care unhindered by finances.
“We do the best we can to get our patients ready,” Erickson said. “Our patients are some of the most deserving patients who we have. We [sometimes] operate sometimes in really austere conditions, but we’re still going to provide world class dentistry.”
Dr. Tadros M. Tadros ENDO 17: U.S. Army
Major of 804th Medical Brigade
In 2018, Tadros first enlisted in the U.S. Army because he wanted to assist underserved communities. In August 2024, his dedication to the military was recognized as he was promoted to major in the US Army Reserve Dental Corps. He is the chief dental officer at the 804th Medical Brigade headquarters at Fort Devens, Massachusetts.
As major, he is the sole dentist in this brigade overseeing the dental readiness for soldiers in New England. He said this is a significant milestone in his military career and he is eager to continue to serve in this capacity.
“I think [being in the army has been] one of best the greatest experiences in my life to be part of such a supportive and great environment and people to be serving with,” Tadros said.
Tadros’ civilian dental pursuits involve his multi-location dental practice in New Hampshire called Elite Endodontics of NH. He specializes in root canal treatments using state-of-the-art technology, including cone beam 3D imaging and conscious sedation. Tadros said his military background helps his civilian managerial approaches and vice versa.
“When you’re involved in a leadership capacity, you learn a lot about managing personnel [and] making important decisions on the go,” Tadros said. “[My military and civilian duties] complement each other, and they help me to achieve good in both positions.”
Tadros couldn’t pinpoint a single military career highlight—and that’s because everything he has done with the U.S. Army has been helping a great cause.
“The whole experience is very rewarding and fulfilling,” Tadros said. “When you go on a dental mission, you’re providing dental care to communities and rural areas that don’t have dental services available or even affordable. We participate in making sure that our soldiers are ready and deployable at any time to go overseas to perform tasks. If we don’t make sure that they are ready and treated, that could affect the overall mission of the Army.”
He urged dental professionals to be open minded about pursuing military roles. Tadros said he has learned and grown in innumerable ways over the past six years. He can’t wait to see what happens next—and that this internal improvement can be bestowed upon anyone who decides to serve.
“I always encourage people to like to look at these options, look at what they can do, and to not be scared,” Tadros said.