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Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-110

§7081 Dental Corps: Chief, Functions

Title 10 › Subtitle B — Army › PART I — ORGANIZATION › CHAPTER 707 — THE ARMY › § 7081

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Army must have a Chief of the Dental Corps, an officer appointed as the law requires. Following rules set by the Secretary of the Army, the Chief directs all Army dental work. The Chief sets dental standards, manages organization and personnel (appointments, promotions, training, transfers), and advises the Office of the Surgeon General. Dental staff are placed in units led by an Army Medical Department officer who answers to local commanders for professional and certain administrative matters.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §7081

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Chief of the Dental Corps shall be an officer of that corps appointed as prescribed in section 3039 of this title.
(b)Under such regulations as the Secretary of the Army may prescribe, all dental functions of the Army shall be under the direction of the Chief of the Dental Corps. All matters relating to dentistry shall be referred to the Chief of the Dental Corps.
(c)The Chief of the Dental Corps shall—
(1)establish professional standards and policies for dental practice;
(2)initiate and recommend action pertaining to organization requirements and utilization of the Dental Corps and dental auxiliary strength, appointments, advancement, training assignments, and transfer of dental personnel; and
(3)serve as the adviser to the Office of the Surgeon General on all matters relating directly to dentistry.
(d)Under such regulations as the Secretary of the Army may prescribe, dental and dental auxiliary personnel throughout the Army shall be organized into units commanded by a designated commissioned officer of the Army Medical Department. Such officer will be directly responsible to the commander of installations, organizations, and activities for all professional and technical matters and such administrative matters as may be prescribed by regulation.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 3039 of this title, referred to in subsec. (a), was repealed by Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title V, § 502(n)(1), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2103.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 7081 was renumbered section 8581 of this title.

Amendments

2019—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–92 substituted “commissioned officer of the Army Medical Department” for “Dental Corps Officer”. 2018—Pub. L. 115–232 renumbered section 3081 of this title as this section. 1986—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99–433 substituted “section 3039” for “section 3040”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Feb. 1, 2019, with provision for the coordination of

Amendments

and special rule for certain redesignations, see section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 7081

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110