Judy Force, DVM, DAVDC
Board Certified Veterinary Dentist
Dr. Force worked as a veterinarian in New Zealand when she first graduated from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. That was a challenge, cats and dogs, horses and cattle, and the occasional sheep or deer farm. Back in the States she worked in a small animal practice in South Lake Tahoe, California and then Fort Bragg, California before settling down in Watsonville in 1997.
In the 1980s there was no dentistry department at UC Davis. The second year out of school, though, Dr. Force took the AAHA weekend courses in dentistry and was hooked. It wasn’t until she was working at Santa Cruz Veterinary Hospital that she found they had lots of wonderful dental equipment that was hardly being used, and she was able to devote herself to learning as much dentistry as possible.
Her first mentor, Dr. Barry Staley, was a retired human periodontist who came to oversee dental cases that Dr. Force was doing at SCVH. Dr. Michael Floyd was a great mentor until he retired, and then Dr. Brook Niemiec, Dr. Pat Frost Fitch, and Dr. Alex Reiter were her main mentors. She also traveled to several veterinary dental practices around the country to work with Board Certified Veterinary Dentists™ and advance her knowledge and skills.
In 2006 Dr. Force was honored to be awarded a Don Low Fellowship in anesthesia. She spent 20 days at UC Davis in the veterinary teaching hospital working in the anesthesia department with faculty, residents, and students, improving her understanding of anesthesia in critical as well as geriatric and special-needs patients.
In 2011 Dr. Force became a Fellow of the Academy of Veterinary Dentistry. In 2014 she became a Diplomate of the American Veterinary Dental College and a Board Certified Veterinary Dentist™.
Dr. Force continues to study and learn new skills. She shares that knowledge by lecturing at the national Veterinary Dental Forum as well as to local veterinary hospitals and associations. She has also lectured at the European Dental Conference. She has written articles for journals and contributed a chapter to a veterinary dental restorations book, and she has coauthored articles with her residents.
In her spare time, Dr. Force enjoys training and competing with her Dalmatians in rally, obedience, and the occasional Dalmatian road trial. She enjoys riding her horses on the trail and advancing her abilities in dressage. She also likes to play banjo and guitar and spend lots of time with family and friends.