Defence Dental Services (DDS) is a tri-service dental services provider to the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

. The service forms part of the MoD

Defence Medical Services The Defence Medical Services (DMS) is an umbrella organisation within the Ministry of Defence in the United Kingdom. It describes the Royal Navy Medical Service, Army Medical Services and RAF Medical Services. The Defence Medical Services Group ...

branch and employs approximately 9,100 personnel drawn from the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

as well as civilian staff. The service is headquartered at

DMS Whittington DMS Whittington, otherwise known as Defence Medical Services Whittington (formerly Whittington Barracks), is a military base in Whittington, Staffordshire, near Lichfield in England. It is home to the Staffordshire Regiment Museum, the Headquart ...

, near

Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. DDS controls 12 regional headquarters, each headed by a Principle Dental Officer and provides dental services to personnel on active operations throughout the world. The Defence Dental Services organisation was established on 1 April 2005, replacing the Defence Dental Agency (DDA). Prior to 1996 dental services had been separately managed by the Royal Naval Dental Service (established in 1920), the

Royal Army Dental Corps The Royal Army Dental Corps (RADC) was a specialist corps in the British Army that provided dental health services to British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace. The corps was awarded the "royal" prefix to become the Royal ...

(established in 1921) and the RAF Dental Branch (established in 1930). On 1 March 1996 the three dental service headquarters were combined to form the DDA. The three branches continue to maintain their individual service identities, but as part of a single, tri-service command structure.

References

External links

DDS hygiene programs and qualifications
From the General Dental Council. Dental organisations based in the United Kingdom Health in Staffordshire Lichfield District Medical units and formations of the United Kingdom Military history of Staffordshire Organisations based in Staffordshire {{UK-mil-stub