By Col. Joshua A. Vess, USAF, DC, and MAJ Patricia M. Walworth, USA, DC

A massive Air Force plane lumbers across the sky above Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas, its aircrew practicing touch-and-goes to maintain mission readiness. Inside the Air Force Postgraduate Dental School’s second-floor Prosthodontic Clinic, a different kind of resilience unfolds. As an alginate impression sets for an ocular prosthetic, a provider and patient share a lighthearted exchange about the aircraft’s size and speed. The patient, a colonel who lost his left eye and arm to an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2006, laughs as he recounts jumping from similar planes. This Veterans Day, we honor such heroes through the Air Force Maxillofacial Prosthetics Fellowship Program, which restores not just faces but lives, blending advanced dental care with compassion. For AGD members, this program exemplifies dentistry’s power to heal, inspiring us to approach our practice with renewed purpose.

The colonel is back at the clinic for a new ocular prosthetic and is currently seated in the spacious anaplastology treatment room flooded with natural light (anaplastology is the field of medicine that deals with prosthetic rehabilitation). He tells his provider, “I know you guys can paint it to look like my other eye, but I want you to put this in it instead,” and hands over a metal lapel pin with the insignia of his current unit. Still on active duty and now a full-bird colonel, he custom orders these pins every time he’s assigned to a new unit, then calls the clinic for a new eye. When asked why he continues to serve after giving so much, he responds, “Every day I get to come to work and be with people who not only make sacrifices daily, but who are willing to die for what they believe in. What could be better than that?”

Stories like his are the heart of the U.S. Air Force Maxillofacial Prosthetics Fellowship Program — a beacon of hope for veterans and service members who have sacrificed so much. Established in 1984, this pioneering program has transformed the landscape of specialized dental care within the military, blending cutting-edge technology with compassionate expertise to restore not only function, but also dignity and confidence.

This Veterans Day, as we honor those who have served, it’s fitting to spotlight the unsung heroes we treat in military medicine. For AGD dentists, understanding the program’s history, purpose and impact can deepen our appreciation for the Armed Forces’ commitment to holistic care. It reminds us that our profession extends beyond routine procedures — it’s about healing the human spirit. In this article, we’ll explore why this fellowship program exists, delve into some of the innovative treatments it provides and share inspiring patient examples that highlight its profound effects. Our hope is to cultivate a shared sense of gratitude for our veterans and awareness of these specialized services, inspiring us all to approach our practices with renewed purpose.

Why Does the Military Have Maxillofacial Programs?

The Air Force Maxillofacial Prosthetics Fellowship Program was born out of necessity — a response to the challenges faced by military personnel and veterans. Service members face unique risks — combat injuries, high-impact training accidents and environmental hazards — that civilians rarely encounter. These can lead to devastating facial trauma or conditions like head and neck cancers, requiring specialized lifelong care through both active duty and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) systems. The Air Force Maxillofacial Prosthetics Fellowship Program trains specialists to bridge dentistry and medicine, crafting lifelike prostheses for eyes, ears and noses, far beyond the crowns and dentures of general prosthodontics. This ensures a cadre of experts ready to restore function and dignity, maintain operational readiness, and support veterans’ reintegration into civilian life.

In the broader context of military dentistry, the fellowship underscores the armed forces’ dedication to comprehensive health. The U.S. Air Force Dental Service, established in 1949, has long prioritized advanced training to meet the demands of a global force. By investing in maxillofacial prosthetics, the Air Force not only treats physical wounds but also addresses the psychological toll of disfigurement, helping veterans reintegrate into civilian life. Embodying the military ethos nemo residit — “no one left behind” — it is our hope that this program serves to inspire other dental professionals to continue their efforts to approach patient care with the same holistic dedication, ensuring every patient feels whole.

Fellowship History: From Inception to Excellence

The Air Force’s commitment to prosthodontics began in the 1950s, with graduate programs elevating care standards for a global force. In 1984, the Maxillofacial Prosthetics Fellowship was established at Wilford Hall Medical Center (now part of Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland), training board-certified prosthodontists in complex reconstructions. The program embraced innovation early, adopting stereolithography — a 3D-modeling technique — in the 1990s to craft precise prostheses. Today, at the state-of-the-art Air Force Postgraduate Dental School, fellows use advanced tools like cone beam computed tomography, stereophotogrammetry and jaw-motion tracking (digitizing the complete patient), along with CAD/ CAM for custom devices, ensuring unparalleled accuracy. Accredited by the American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Accreditation, the program has trained 38 fellows across the Air Force, Army and Navy, adapting to an increased need for maxillofacial prosthetics due to better survival rates from improved body armor — and restoring heroes’ quality of life in the process. At the same time, advances in weaponry have increased the number of warfighters sustaining soft- and hard-tissue injuries to the head and neck. May this legacy serve to inspire AGD members to embrace innovation in their own practices.

The Ethos: Returning Warfighters Whole to the Fight

The Air Force Maxillofacial Prosthetics Fellowship Program embodies the motto: “Returning warfighters whole to the fight.” “Whole” signifies more than physical restoration — it’s about renewing confidence, dignity and purpose. Whether crafting an ocular prosthetic for a colonel who continues to serve or designing implants for a veteran reclaiming his ability to speak, the program ensures service members can return to their missions or civilian lives with resilience. For AGD members, this ethos inspires us to treat every patient holistically, addressing not just their dental needs but their human spirit, ensuring no one is left behind in their journey to healing.

Treatments that Transform

The fellowship equips specialists to restore both form and function through innovative treatments, collaborating with oral surgeons, oncologists and plastic surgeons to serve complex patient needs. Key interventions include:

• Intraoral prostheses: Obturators for palatal defects, mandibular resection prostheses and implant-borne prostheses, critical for trauma or cancer recovery.

• Extraoral prostheses: Lifelike silicone eyes, ears and noses, meticulously painted to match skin and eye tones, restoring confidence.

• Dental oncology support: Radiation shields and rehabilitative devices to aid speech and swallowing for head and neck cancer patients.

• Custom devices: Transparent pressure masks for burn patients, crafted using stereophotogrammetry (3D imaging) and 3D printing, alongside therapy aids and cleft palate molding devices. These treatments transcend esthetics, enabling patients to eat, speak and engage confidently.

For AGD members, these innovations highlight dentistry’s role in holistic healing, inspiring us to explore advanced techniques in our practices.

Patient Stories: Heroes Reborn

The program’s heart lies in its patients’ stories. One veteran, who was diagnosed with lower lip squamous cell carcinoma nearly a decade ago, sought dentures after extensive reconstruction. “I used to swing dance, but I don’t anymore,” he shared, describing years of limited eating and smiling due to an atrophic jaw and flap reconstruction. After months of planning with an ear, nose and throat doctor and oral surgery, specialists placed four mandibular and three zygomatic (cheekbone) implants. When he saw his interim prostheses, he teared up: “Doc, you did what others said couldn’t be done. I can’t wait to eat a steak.” His joy inspires AGD members to pursue creative solutions for complex cases.

Another active duty soldier lost much of his facial skin, including his nose and lips, due to an aberrant autoimmune reaction after being attacked with a knife. After spending months in the Army’s Burn Institute for Surgical Research rehabilitation clinic and being reconstructed with grafts, he received both a custom 3D-printed face mask and a silicone prosthesis for his nose and upper lip — both created from a 3D face model computed using a pre-injury video he provided. “I can go out in public without people seeing inside my body,” he said tearfully before traveling home to his family. Still serving, his resilience motivates us to connect patients with specialized care, such as through the American Academy of Maxillofacial Prosthetics (AAMP) or VA referrals.

Call to Gratitude

The Air Force Maxillofacial Prosthetics Fellowship Program embodies service beyond the battlefield, restoring heroes one prosthesis at a time. This Veterans Day, let’s honor veterans by cultivating awareness of these specialized services. AGD members can make a difference by partnering with local VA clinics, referring complex cases to maxillofacial prosthodontists (find AAMP specialists at maxillofacialprosthetics.org) or simply expressing gratitude to veteran patients. By embracing the ethos of “returning warfighters whole to the fight,” we strengthen the bond between civilian and military dentistry, ensuring no hero faces the world alone.

Note: The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.

Col. Joshua A. Vess, USAF, DC, is program director of the Maxillofacial Prosthetics Fellowship Program at the Air Force Postgraduate Dental School, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. MAJ Patricia M. Walworth, USA, DC, is chief of maxillofacial prosthodontics at Brooke Army Medical Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas. To comment on this article, email impact@agd.org.