Home » Special Operations » Navy SEALs vs Navy Dentists: Who’s more elite?

Navy SEALs vs Navy Dentists: Who’s more elite?

by · March 3, 2012 · Posted In: Special Operations
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I was talking with my Navy Dentist contact Melissa and she opened my eyes up to the secretive and elite world of Navy Dentistry.  Once you read below I think you’ll realize that they are BA in their own right.  So….

NAVY_SEAL_DENTIST_SOF

Navy SEALs or Navy Dentists?  You decide who’s more elite….

Navy SEALs Navy Dentists
Shoot people in the face Shoot people in the face w/ local anesthesia
Throats slashed (Somalia Pirates 2011) Cut throats via surgical incisions
Put people to sleep (permanently) IVCS-intravenous conscious sedation
Presence elicits fear Odontophobia (fear of dentists–on some top ten fear lists)
Mask up to scare bad guys Masks, surgical caps, gowns, gloves (see Odontophobia)
Waterboarding (did I just say that out loud?) Use a ton of water for work/torture (love gaggers)
Large assortment of weapons & gear
SOPMOD-kit-SOFREP		 Lasers, scopes, eyewear, etc.
DENTIST_KIT_SOFREP
Ability to take out squirters They love the squirter (e.g. squirmer)!
Perform extractions Teeth, of course
Use stun grenades Use nitrous oxide
Elite group: Less than 1,900 active duty Elite group: Less than 1,100 Navy dentists

Need I say more?

So who’s more elite??? Share you thoughts via comments below.

-Brandon (BUD/S 215)

About The Author

Brandon Webb is a former U.S. Navy SEAL with combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the Middle East. His last tour in the SEAL Teams was as the Course Manager for the US Navy SEAL Sniper program, arguably one of the most difficult sniper courses in the world. He was formerly a contributing editor for Military.com, and currently the Editor-in-Chief of SOFREP.com. Brandon is regularly featured in the media as a subject matter expert on military affairs. An avid writer, his last two books (The Red Circle, & Benghazi: The Definitive Report) both hit the New York Times best seller list, and his writing has been featured in print, and digital media worldwide. You can follow him on Twitter @BrandontWebb
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Tango9
Tango9

The hell are you guys doing digging up old threads!?

It is a good one though.  "Extraction" takes on a whole new meaning.

13thBama
13thBama

@Tango9 Why did it show up in the rotation?  It was the first time I saw it.  Hmmmm. My browser is plotting against me lol

creily21
creily21

@Tango9 lol!

Didn't realize it was so old.  It is pretty classic though. 

Tango9
Tango9 like.author.displayName 1 Like

@creily21 @Tango9 It's old enough that I can gauge my bone density loss by it.  But it is fun.  Just look at the two last pics and ask yourself who you'd rather be left alone in a room with.

creily21
creily21

Navy dentists are CLEARLY more BA.........Bwahahahahah!!!!

No, but seriously, I take oral hygiene pretty seriously.  They are both necessary evils.

Tango9
Tango9 like.author.displayName 1 Like

Nothing makes a vicious cleaning go faster than boobs on your chin.  And ugly don't cut it.

Tango9
Tango9 like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

@creily21 all jokes aside (and good Lord, it's really hard to place them aside)  FLOSS!  And pick a dentist with hot techs.  If the tech is ugly?  walk out.  You think I'm kidding?

creily21
creily21 like.author.displayName 1 Like

@Tango9 @creily21 lmfao!!!!!!

My wife makes fun of me because I'm borderline obsessive about flossing.....and I've had nearly as many dentists as girlfriends.  Whenever the ratio of hot techs to complete butter faces goes down, I move on to the next dentist with the hottest techs (that's actually how I pick my dentists).

Tango9
Tango9 like.author.displayName 1 Like

we've so got incoming.  Setting up the perimeter; claymores and wire.  60's on the flanks and check ammo.

Mortars standby for grid.  We might need air so wrastle the FAC out of bed.

13thBama
13thBama like.author.displayName 1 Like

How do the two compare on big watches and mustaches?

Mi6lethaltool
Mi6lethaltool like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

Imagine a "hell week" that last for 2 years, welcome to Dental clinic, last 2 years of dental school, hell on earth.

Edohiguma
Edohiguma like.author.displayName 1 Like

Well, consider this: the human mouth harbors a lot of germs. A ridiculous amount of viruses and bacteria, some of which are actually highly dangerous. They just don't cause issues because usually our immune system keeps them at bay and the insides of our mouths are taken care of. Usually. Now Navy dentists aren't only taking care of sailors. They're also deployed on humanitarian missions. Then they delve into mouths that haven't had proper care for who knows how long. Or think apartment building elevator or subway in the wee morning hours. There's always one with a certain scent in his breath. Dentists go into that, too.


I think I'd rather HALO with only my underpants on than doing that.

Tango9
Tango9

@Edohiguma Hah!  Well put.  There's orifices I really really don't want to open or see, and a 3d world (and I've been to Mississippi) mouth is up on the list.  I had a good friend who was a dental tech and I asked her why she just didn't choose to root around in a sewer for a living.

N3V3R_SRRNDR
N3V3R_SRRNDR

Chief, you forgot to add they both work in highly dangerous environments and constantly under threat of injury. Human bites may be more dangerous than most animal bites. 

I wouldn't be surprise if they make a hit list or two; or maybe they're the ones making the hits? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glennon_Engleman

Blake Miles
Blake Miles

lol what the hell were they doing in that video?

I didn't start squirming until he began prying off the lower portion of the jaw.

Great one, Brandon :D

chrisp7
chrisp7 like.author.displayName 1 Like

Does The Duffel Blog take submissions? Because this would be a great piece for that site.

Corps Hornet Driver
Corps Hornet Driver

Seeing how my wife is a dentist, and her partner a retired USN dentist, and I've wondered around enough beaches and wood (notice I said nothing about swimming/boats) with TRADET to know the comparison is dead nuts on BW!

skateboard decks
skateboard decks

The comparison shown is pretty interesting.  In fact, it sounds a bit funny too like the statement Navy seals shoot people in the face and the navy dentists Shoot people in the face with local anesthesia. The comparison also shows how different both the professions are even though the actions performed are quite similar.

Pediatric Dentist
Pediatric Dentist like.author.displayName 1 Like

Great comparison! But for me, navy dentist looks more bad ass. :P

GoNavy
GoNavy like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

Great write up Brandon and good comparison. Every Rating has a purpose in the military and goes to show important each rating is. It's not all about special forces like some people think out there. Yes, I would rather go up against a Navy SEAL than the dentist :)

SEAN SPOONTS
SEAN SPOONTS like.author.displayName 1 Like

Chuck Norris would rather kick his own teeth out than go to a dentist. That's how bad ass they are.

Tango9
Tango9 like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

I believe the comments have provided sufficient proof that military (ESPECIALLY military) dentists are far, far more dangerous, scary, and elicit more nightmares than any SEAL could possible hope to.I'm going to go ahead and call this one:  Dentists win.

BrandonWebb
BrandonWebb moderator like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

 @Tango9 The numbers and scarcity speak for itself.....Navy Dentists are far fewer and more elite...just glad I'm on their side!!! I've heard they hold off on local anesthesia if you are a whiner.....

BrandonWebb
BrandonWebb moderator like.author.displayName 1 Like

 @Tango9 Just goes to show that whining about shit never pays....best to man up and take it!

creily21
creily21

@BrandonWebb @Tango9 I was a Corpsman so I can't speak to Dentists witholding anesthesia but I've known a Navy doc who liked to mess with problem patients in some rather creative ways. 

Evan95
Evan95 like.author.displayName 1 Like

Why does that dentist need a chainsaw in the video?

 

I think dentist must be trained by satan himself. Thats some scary shit!

Corps Hornet Driver
Corps Hornet Driver

 @Evan95 If you've never watched the 1986 flick "Little House of Horrors" with the dentist scene and Steve Martin...

Watch and you will know why you subconsciously (or why whiners present themselves) fear the dentist.

SEAN SPOONTS
SEAN SPOONTS like.author.displayName 1 Like

Hey, which one of those dental instruments is the one they stick in your butt? It seems to me that every medical specialty, new technology and procedure eventually progesses into some kind of rectal probing...Jus sayin.

BDW
BDW

 @SEAN SPOONTS Well, I suppose you could stick any of those in your butt if you wanted.  I might recommend switching medical/dental providers if you are constantly getting anally probed and told it is a common procedure.  

SEAN SPOONTS
SEAN SPOONTS

@BDW Just wait til Obama-Care kicks in. Lol.

SEAN SPOONTS
SEAN SPOONTS like.author.displayName 1 Like

@Tango9 @BDW I posit that taking it in the 'exfil' will be the procedure.

Tango9
Tango9

 @SEAN SPOONTS  @BDW yeah... then we all take it in the arse no matter what the medical procedure is.

BDW
BDW

As a member of this super secret bad ass dentist unit, I can tell you that selection is no joke....I shouldn't even be talking about it.  I don't want to be PNG'd

BrandonWebb
BrandonWebb moderator like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

 @BDW What is the SEAL Team 6 of dentistry? I've been told Oral Surgeons...do tell?

BDW
BDW

 @BrandonWebb Prison dentists are the JSOC of dentistry...There isn't anything they haven't seen, there isn't anything they can't do and they do it in the most inhospitable environments on some of the most inhospitable people.  

SEAN SPOONTS
SEAN SPOONTS

@Tango9 @BDW @BrandonWebb Seriously, definately bad-ass going into a prison to yank teeth out of prisoners. Asked my kids; "Hey want to go see a movie about SEALs?" The all went; "YEAAA!!!" Then I said, "Or go see a movie about a dentist?" They went running and screaming in terror. Conclusion..Dentists=bad-assitude.

SEAN SPOONTS
SEAN SPOONTS like.author.displayName 1 Like

@BDW @BrandonWebb Is prison Dentist a job you actually seek out? Or is it a 'hell' they threaten you with if you graduate low in your class or get caught boinkin' too many hygienists?

SEAN SPOONTS
SEAN SPOONTS like.author.displayName 1 Like

LOL!! I think Dentists are more BA. They probably have a much higher sucess rate in getting women to open and shut their mouths on command than any Navy SEALs could claim.

LCpl X
LCpl X like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 3 Like

They should definitely fall under the command of the CIA also,

hot female dentists can be useful in so many ways for torture,

honey traps, or as dual dentist/ops officers.

 

http://www.stripes.com/news/us/officials-cia-led-elite-force-may-speed-afghan-exit

The anonymous sources who spoke to the AP said placing special forces under CIA control would be one way the U.S. military could draw down its presence in Afghanistan because troops working for the CIA would technically be considered spies and not military personnel.

 

The CIA-led forces, however, would still primarily be involved in targeting militants and training Afghan forces.

 

Tango9
Tango9

 @LCpl X LCpl X, they can also be used to boost morale.  (did I say that?)

Maddog4Hire
Maddog4Hire like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

Dentists aren't scared of SEALS, but I know SEALS that would rather stand in for a pop up target than go to the DENTIST.