Federal Service Dental Educators to Convene for Training, Collaboration, and Readiness

The Uniformed Services University's Postgraduate Dental College to host the 2026 Federal Service Dental Educators' Workshop, strengthening collaboration and educational alignment.

December 23, 2025 by Hadiyah Brendel

The annual Federal Service Dental Educators' Workshop (FSDEW) serves as a critical nexus within the Military Health System, ensuring alignment and excellence across Tri-Service Graduate Dental Education (GDE) programs. Hosted each year by the Uniformed Services University's (USU) Postgraduate Dental College (PDC) on the USU campus in Bethesda, Maryland, the workshop brings together senior dental educators to shape the future of military dental training.

The FSDEW is a highly coordinated event supported by a 12-month planning cycle that rotates annually among the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The 2026 collaboration is led in partnership with the U.S. Army.

Retired Air Force Col. (Dr.) Jay Graver, PDC associate dean for Faculty Affairs, emphasizes the importance of sustained coordination and early engagement among partners. "We begin planning the next workshop while the current one is still underway," Graver said. "That continuity is essential to ensuring we remain responsive to emerging educational needs and advances in dental medicine."

The workshop facilitates engagement across a broad network of federal partners, including the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which operates its own graduate dental education programs. VA participation in the upcoming workshop marks a renewed opportunity for federal collaboration and shared learning across agencies.

"FSDEW allows us to methodically review needs, requirements, and new and emerging technologies," Graver explained. "From artificial intelligence and innovations in teaching and learning, to new or improved treatment techniques, this forum ensures our educators are aligned and forward-looking."

Breaking Silos and Strengthening the Tri-Service Mission

In-person engagement is central to the workshop's success. FSDEW convenes program directors from 55 graduate dental education programs, including 19 Master of Science programs, 26 one-year programs across the Services, and 10 Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery programs.

Historically, collaboration across Services was limited. Today, FSDEW actively dismantles those silos through intentional programming, including service-specific and specialty-specific breakout sessions. These forums enable participants to share best practices, discuss inspection outcomes, and identify opportunities to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and resource stewardship across the GDE enterprise.

Service-specific sessions also provide a direct feedback loop to attending representatives from the Defense Health Agency (DHA), ensuring that challenges and opportunities identified by educators inform enterprise-level decision-making.

By fostering these connections, FSDEW ensures that dental educators-and the residents they train-are not only academically current but also operationally prepared. The workshop's inclusion of operational dentistry training reinforces the unique role military dentists play in deployed and battlefield environments, distinguishing military dental practice from civilian care.

While attendees are well aware of the workshop's stated mission-to review graduate dental education processes and facilitate an exchange of ideas across Services-Graver underscored the broader objective:

"The best trained educators provide the best trained residents, who provide the best care to our Department of War beneficiaries."

Sustaining Momentum and Looking Ahead

The PDC remains focused on maintaining momentum and delivering a workshop that continues to serve as a cornerstone for faculty development and strategic oversight within the Military Health System's dental enterprise.

Through its leadership of FSDEW, the USU Postgraduate Dental College reinforces its commitment to educational excellence, collaboration, and readiness-ensuring that military dental educators are equipped to support the health and operational readiness of the fighting force well into the future.