US Navy Dental Technician Collar Insignia

Subdued Dental Insignia

This is a government-issue US Navy Dental Technician collar insignia, made to mark a dental rating on the field uniform without a bright, high-visibility badge. The device is a shield enclosing a winged caduceus over the letter D, embroidered in black on an OD green cotton backing. Collectors use it to complete a medical or dental display, reenactors use it to finish a period uniform, and service members and veterans sew it onto their own utilities.

Features

• Dental Technician Device — A shield outline frames a winged caduceus, the traditional medical staff with two snakes, set over a bold letter D for dental.
• Subdued Colorway — Black thread on OD green (olive drab, the standard military green) keeps the insignia low contrast to match field and utility uniforms.
• Embroidered Design — The whole device is stitched rather than printed, so the outline and lettering stand slightly proud of the fabric.
• Cotton Backing — The design sits on a rectangle of OD green cotton twill that blends into a cotton or cotton-blend uniform once it is sewn down.
• Sew-On Format — The fabric border around the shield is there to fold under and stitch to the collar, by hand or by machine.
• Collar Placement — It is sized and cut for the collar point, where subdued rating and branch insignia sit on the field uniform.
• National Stock Number — It carries NSN 8455-01-480-7578, the government catalog number that identifies issued insignia in the military supply system.

Issue Specification

Federal Supply Class 8455 covers badges and insignia, and this piece was procured through government supply channels as issued kit. A commercial lookalike has no claim to that provenance, which is why collectors and uniform builders want the stock-numbered item. The black-on-OD scheme follows the subdued insignia standard for field wear, so it suits an accurate utility uniform or a shadow box of dental and medical badges.