Got basic training in a couple of months. This may sound like a weird specific question but for the dental exam do the dentists use some sort of device to support your mouth to keep it open while they work on you or do I have to keep it open by myself. I ask this because my jaw gets tired when I try to keep it open wide for a while. For people that have gone through this how long did you sit in the chair with your mouth open for?

I'm certain if needed, they'll use a dental block to keep your mouth open. How long that lasts, depends upon how much work needs to be done. If you need wisdom teeth pulled, it might be a while. If it is cleaning and you are good, it could be a very short visit. There is no standard or typical time spent in a dentist chair, military or civilian.

I actually fell asleep while on the exam chair at dental. Believe me that dental is the least of your concerns.

I had my wisdom teeth out and got a few fillings in boot camp. Those were the least of my concerns there.

I got comments on how good my dentist was when she looked at my fillings. They are really nice and it helps you a lot when a person talks to you. you know instead of yelling.

What do you recommend: tobtake wisdom teeth before going to boot camp or in boot camp?

I recommend getting them in boot camp so its paid for. Plus you get light duty and a day off from getting destroyed

I second this. Getting my wisdom teeth out in boot camp was absolutely no fun, but the government paid for it. Additionally, a couple other shipmates who also got their wisdom teeth out and I got to spend the night in the infirmary (4 man room vs. squad bay), with no one yelling or IT'ing us, and we were allowed to eat ice cream for one glorious dinner. I even learned how to play Clue that evening. The fun ended the next morning as we were back in boot camp (albeit on light duty), getting yelled at like usual, figuring out how to eat without chewing, and relying on Motrin to deal with the pain.  

will they pull your wisdom teeth even if theyre fine? mine came in and have never bothered me and all my teeth are straight.

That determination is made in Cape May. They might, they might not. It is one of those don't sweat it things. There is nothing you can do about it either way.

The Initial Exam is usually just X-Rays and depending on the status of your teeth they will sit down and talk to you about procedures you need to have done. I needed to have a Root Canal done and they informed me a prior root canal I had done the crown was defective so decay had built up underneath and they needed to redo it as well as redo some Fillings I had. They use a Bite Block to hold your mouth open on most of the procedures I had done and encouraged me to get a nap if I could do it while they worked on my teeth. I would wait until Boot Camp for the wisdom teeth they make sure its done not to affect your schedule and it does give you a break and much needed rest during training.