Anthony M Carbonella IV, DMD, MS, has come full circle.

The Connecticut native has returned to his home state and is now residing in Newtown after traveling outside of Connecticut, including abroad, during his decade-plus long service in the Air Force.

Carbonella recently joined Dr Greg Saam, his best friend from dental school, at Rejuvenate Dental Arts in Bethel.

“I’m excited to become an integral part of the community and more broadly of western Connecticut. I’ve only spent two days there so far, but we’re off to a great start with a great staff, and the patients have been incredibly welcoming to me as the new face around the office,” Carbonella said last week.

“It’s been a long 11 years away from my friends and family in Connecticut. When I touched down at Bradley (International Airport), my wife (Angela) and dad were there to greet me. Angela moved home to Connecticut prior to me and it was a tear fest,” he said.

Carbonella was on terminal leave, so technically still on active duty through May 19, having been released from his unit in Texas.

He and Angela, a school psychologist, have two children, 3-year-old Anthony V, and 7-month-old Siena, “who we named after the Tuscan city in Italy.”

“When Angela and I decided that I’d be leaving active duty, we always knew that we wanted to come back to the tri-state area. Angela grew up in Nutley, New Jersey, and her parents are still there. I grew up in Hamden and Cheshire, and my parents are still in Cheshire,” he said. “After being abroad for three years during COVID and not able to see our friends and family for the majority of that time, we realized how important getting back home, in close proximity to our people, was to us.”

Carbonella recalled that while graduating from University of Connecticut he was accepted to dental school (UConn Farmington), and the Air Force called to offer a scholarship (Health Professions Scholarship Program).

“Having had very little military experience in my family, I turned them down at first. Luckily, the recruiter was tenacious, and he called me back after about a month’s time,” Carbonella said. “By then I had a chance to really look into what dental school was going to cost, and speak to some people who had served in the Air Force, and it began to sound like a better and better idea. Before I knew it, my contract was signed and I was off to Montgomery, Ala., for Commissioned Officer’s Training (COT).”

“Here they taught us military customs and courtesies, how to wear the uniform, how to march and salute, 4 am wake-up calls for physical training, getting yelled at when you mess up … the whole thing, just like you see in the movies,” he recalled.

“Once I finished COT, I started dental school and Uncle Sam paid my full tuition and provided me with a living stipend too, nothing to complain about there,” he added. “Once I graduated dental school, I wanted to further refine my skills, so I applied for an Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) residency program and was accepted to the Air Force program at Travis Air Force Base in California.”

Advanced Dental Training

Over the course of that year, Carbonella was trained in advanced procedures in all of dentistry’s specialties from wisdom tooth extractions, IV sedation, molar root canals, and mild-moderate orthodontic cases.

“I found myself happiest on the days I was doing orthodontics, so I tucked into the back of my mind that I’d probably eventually specialize, but wanted to get to my next assignment and practice the full scope of advanced general dentistry that I had just learned,” he said.

Carbonella was assigned to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey, and while living there met Angela.

“I did some more orthodontic cases on my own, which confirmed in my mind that I wanted to go back to school for ortho, so I applied to the Air Force program which is called the Tri-Service Orthodontic Residency Program (TORP) in San Antonio. Once I got to residency I dove in head first, put in crazy long hours,” said Carbonella, noting that those hours were from 5 am to 10 pm most nights.

Two years later he was a board-certified orthodontist and his first assignment as an orthodontist ended up being to Lakenheath Air Force Base in the UK, “which was an amazing experience … until COVID happened,” he said.

Prior to the impact of the coronavirus, Carbonella and his family traveled all over Europe (Italy, Spain, Belgium, Germany …) and loving life, as he puts it.

“Once COVID hit, the UK basically locked down completely for the next year, and our travel came to a halt. This gave me more time to focus on orthodontics, further developing my skills, and networking because I knew at some point I’d be exiting active duty and joining a civilian practice. Once my tour in England ended, my wife and I decided to take one more assignment on active duty, and I was selected to return to San Antonio as a full-time faculty member at TORP, and a part-time faculty member at the Oral & Maxillofacial Residency.”

Carbonella said that was by far the best job he has had. “I absolutely loved teaching, and I probably learned just as much being back at the program by working with amazing co-faculty members and cutting-edge technology,” he said.

Despite all of this, there was a strong desire to return home, so Carbonella left active duty and accepted a position as an orthodontist in Connecticut. To continue his military service, Carbonella is going to serve as a member of the Air National Guard.

“Things I love about being in the military I guess could best be explained by the Air Force’s core values: ‘Integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do.’ Not much explanation needed, but 11 years of living and breathing these guiding principles have made me a better orthodontist, father, husband, and American,” Carbonella said.

“What I love about orthodontics is people, art, and science. I’m a people person. I love getting to know my patients, and helping them improve their smiles and sometimes their lives. In the Air Force I had a very, very heavy load of orthognathic surgical patients, ones who needed their jaws re-positioned, and it was amazing to see them completely transform. Orthodontics is also a blend of art and science, which were my two favorite subjects growing up in grade school, so to get to live that every day is truly awesome,” he said.

Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.