Biography

Dr Risk entered active duty through the Military Indoctrination of Medical Services Officers (MIMSO) Program at Sheppard AFB, TX in 1987 after graduating from Georgetown University School of Dentistry. As a direct accession dental officer, he had a variety of clinical and administrative duties and was accepted into the two-year general dentistry residency at Lackland AFB. After graduating the residency in 1997, Col Risk became the only dentist to successfully challenge the certifying board in Infection Control and Epidemiology in 1998 and is a Diplomate of the Federal Services Board of General Dentistry and the American Board of General Dentistry. He has been the Chief of Dental Services at Kunsan AB, Korea; RAF Croughton, UK; and Mountain Home AFB, ID. Col Risk also served as Dental Squadron Commander at Bolling AFB and Offutt AFB where he was also Deputy Group Commander for the 579^th Medical Group and the 55th Medical Group. Col Risk served on the Air Force Surgeon General’s Staff from 2005-2008, responsible for directly supporting the Dental Corp Director and for coordinating all Senior Leader Assignments for the Air Force Medical Service.

In November 2003, Colonel Risk deployed to the 379th Air Expeditionary Medical Group, Southwest Asia, in support of OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM and OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM where he was individually responsible for the dental health of the Air Force’s largest Air Expeditionary Wing including over 6000 coalition personnel.  Col Risk also deployed with OPERATION NEW HORIZONS in support of nation building efforts in Central America in 2013.   Col Risk is a Fellow of the International College of Dentists, served as the Military Consultant to the Air Force Surgeon General for Dental Materials, Devices and Investigations and interim Infection Prevention and Patient Safety Consultant.  He was appointed as an Associate Professor of Comprehensive Dentistry for the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. 

Dr Risk retired from Active Duty in November 2017.  After retirement, Dr Risk joined Fusion Dental, an affiliate of American Dental Partners, Inc., where he entered private practice and provided preparation activities for accreditation by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC).  His current duties include quality assurance, regulatory compliance, risk management and accreditation preparation.  Col Risk currently serves on the Executive Board of Directors for the Organization for Safety, Asepsis, and Prevention (OSAP) and on the Standards Committee for Dental Products for the American Dental Association (ADA).