Dr. David Johnson is a 1974 graduate of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry. Upon graduation he served two years on active duty with the U.S. Air Force and was stationed at Malmstrom AFB Montana. Following his active duty commitment, he continued his education with a year of hospital training at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. In 1977 Dr Johnson returned to Great Falls Montana where he established his practice of General Dentistry.
Dr. Johnson received his initial forensic dental training at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in 1977 as a member of the Air Force Reserve. In 1981 he was accepted as a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) and the following year, as a member of the American Society of Forensic Odontology (ASFO). He completed his preceptor ship in Forensic Sciences at the Oregon Health Sciences University in 1985 and became a Fellow in the AAFS that same year. Since 1981 Dr. Johnson has taught dental identification and bitemark evidence collection at the Montana Law Enforcement Academy and serves as a consultant to the Montana Department of Justice Medical Examiner’s Office and to Montana’s County Coroners. Dr. Johnson became a Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Odontology in 1996. In year 2000 he was elected to a three year term on the ASFO’s Board of Governors and in 2005 he was elected their President.
Dr Johnson holds the rank of Colonel in the Air Force Reserve Dental Corps. He received his commission in 1971 and throughout his Reserve career has been attached to various Air Force clinics and Headquarter Commands. His leadership and experience led to his selection from 2002-2004 as the Mobilization Assistant to the Assistant Surgeon General for Dental Services …the most senior Air Force Reserve Dental Corps advisor position at Air Staff. His current Reserve attachment is to the Armed Forces Medical Examiners Office as a Forensic Dental Investigator.
Dr. Johnson was elected 2005-2006 President of the Montana Dental Association (MDA) and is a past member of the MDA Board of Directors. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of General Dentistry, a Fellow of the International College of Dentists, a member of the American Dental Association and a member of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States.