Eighteen years ago, University of Iowa College of Dentistry professor Steven Levy knew Col. Paul Colthirst, a former student in the university’s graduate Dental Public Health program, was bound for a leadership role in the U.S. Army.

As of March 1, his prediction was realized, Colthirst was named the 30th Chief of the U.S. Army Dental Corps, the senior officer responsible for all Army dental policy and programs nationwide.

Levy, the director of the graduate program in Dental Public Health at the time Colthirst attended UI, and other UI dentistry professors remember Colthirst’s dedication as a student, which earned him his master’s in science from UI in 2008.

“He had young family at the time, and I know in addition to professional things, he was very committed to them,” Levy said. “He was always very focused, and I think even at that time, he was hopeful and open to and looking forward to the possibilities of some enhanced leadership roles.”

Clark Stanford, the dean of the UI College of Dentistry, said Colthirst’s appointment, first and foremost, is a result of his dedication, with the university being a small enabler for him to reach his position.

“The fact that the U.S. military recognizes the high-quality value of the preparation that our programs do here at the College of Dentistry for their officers, I think it’s a statement of their trust in Dr. Colthirst’s leadership that had been developed as a part of his education here at Iowa,” he said.

Stanford said the UI College of Dentistry has a long history of accommodating veterans and active duty students. He said the Army has reserved training slots and fully paid for its dental specialists to attend university programs, such as UI’s Dental Public Health graduate program, to lighten the training load on the Army.

According to the program’s website, an in-state student can expect to pay approximately $35,000 for the two-year program.

John Warren, the director of the graduate program in Dental Public Health at the UI and a professor in the program at the time Colthirst attended UI, said Colthirst was one of the first of eight slots the Army had reserved for the Dental Public Health graduate program.

“For the small program we have, we have quite an impact with the military,” Warren said.

Stanford said the UI’s dentistry program has continued to evolve since Colthirst completed his master’s at the university, as the dental industry has recognized a tighter connection between dental issues and general medical issues. Stanford said researchers have found that with inflammation from gum disease, the rest of the body can deteriorate.

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“It’s been much more of a full recognition, be it from pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes to diabetes and diabetes outcomes, cardiovascular health, to even early onset dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, which has a pretty tight correlation to inflammation in the mouth,” he said.

Warren said he still remembers Colthirst’s time at the university and was proud to hear him secure the prestigious position of chief officer.

“Dr. Colthirst is probably the nicest guy you’re ever going to meet, and when I found out that he had been named the Chief Dental Officer, it was just great,” he said. “Just to see him succeed and get to such a high level, it’s just very rewarding, and I’m just so happy for him.”

Warren said Dental Public Health is an essential component of dentistry, especially in the Army, where nearly half a million active duty soldiers were reported by the Defense Manpower Data Center in January, according to the Department of Defense.

“They have to make sure their personnel are ready to go out and do whatever it is they need to do,” he said. “It really falls on the Dental Corps to make sure their personnel don’t have a toothache or a dental problem that’s going to keep them from doing their job.”

Levy said across the military branches, most enlisted serve three to eight years before a small percentage are then selected for additional training in a clinical specialty, such as a dentist who specializes in treating the gums or bones, or, in Colthirst’s case, Dental Public Health.

“The numbers get smaller like a pyramid when you go up the ranks, and a lot of people get sorted to that mid-level after 15 to 20 years and never get beyond that,” Levy said. “This is obviously the biggest leadership role that he can have.”

Levy said Dental Public Health differs from traditional dentistry because most dentists would examine one patient at a time, while a specialist in Dental Public Health would think of the patient as the entire community they oversee at large.

“That’s where I think we’re really preparing them,” he said. “It’s not so much for the day-to-day one-person clinical care they’re going to receive. It’s more for the overall, bigger issues of policy, prevention, administration of programs.”

Levy said he congratulated Colthirst via email when he learned of his appointment, and looks forward to potentially seeing him and other alumni in person at the National Oral Health Conference, the premier annual meeting specifically for the Dental Public Health community.

Stanford said Colthirst provides a key component for current dental students’ success in their rigorous years of school and acts as a good role model.

“The fact that Paul is trusted in this way of the armed services is a great statement that he’s a wonderful role model for future people who would be interested in dentistry, and specifically in the role that public health can play to improve the general health and preparation for the armed services,” he said.