As a side note, moonlighting gives you the opportunity to dip your toes into civilian dentistry and rub shoulders with dentists who have made a go of it in the real world. Getting that perspective may have been the most valuable thing I got out of moonlighting. The military does a good job at making you think that there is no way to make it in life/your career without them. They make you question whether you could afford health insurance, life insurance, housing, taxes....... without them. Most if not all the dentists you work with are in the same boat you are in and have never worked civilian dentistry. Most of them just don't know how it will be in civilian life. Just take a second and realize that thousands of dentists are killing it every day without civilian benefits.
My story, I did 7 years AD with a 1 year AEGD.
Got 2 amazing base locations after residency. USAFE and PACAF. Received an assignment to another PACAF base in Feb 2020. When the assignments officer realized that I had received 3 amazing bases in a row he basically said "Yeah count on being in NM or the Mid West the rest of your career." I made the decision to separate and find a job at our current location because we loved it here. 4 weeks later the world shut down. It was a very stressful 3 months. I even asked my commander if I could stay in for a year. He declined saying we just don't have the work because we are all sitting around basically. So I pressed forward, got signed up with ADDP and continued to work at my moonlighting gig after I separated and offices opened back up. 6 months later I bought the practice and life is awesome.
My point is that there are more ways to make a career and the military route can play in a significant part in that journey. It just doesn't have to be your whole career. Military dentistry was great for our family and my career but there was a point where the cons outweighed the pros and it was time to move on.