U.S. NAVY CWO DENTAL TECHNICIAN COLLAR DEVICE

The dissolution of the Warrant Officers grades of Pharmacist and Chief Pharmacist in 1947 led to the creation of a Dentalman apprenticeship class and the establishment of the CWO Dental Technician in 1948. Along with Hospitalmen and Stewardsmen, Dentalmen in the pay grades E1 to E3 wore their their specialty marks on the sleeves of their uniforms, in contrast to Sailors in the Airman, Fireman, Seaman, and Constructionman apprenticeships who were only allowed to wear colored stripes. The United States Navy Uniform Regulations of 1951 specified the specialty mark as “a caduceus, surcharged midway on the staff with a block letter "D."” The caduceus alone was the specialty mark for a Sailor in the Hospital Corpsman rating (HM), and it was also used as the insignia for Warrant Officers in the Medical and Dental Services.
 
The Dental Technician rating was disestablished in on October 1, 2005 when the Navy merged it into the HM rating. Nearly 3,000 Dental Technicians in pay grades E1 though E6 were required to study and learn the HM MANUAL, and senior enlisted personnel had the added burden of tackling Web-based training in addition to the written manuals. (This was a two-way street, as the HM Sailors had to tackle all the DT training materials.) Rather than serving in a unique rating, Dental Technicians became one of nearly 50 specialties within the HM rating.
 
While the study load was heavy, the bright spot for Dental Technicians was that they would not be required to attend the HM Class “A” School at Fort Sam Houston in Texas.