• Walter J Psoter, Patricia J Park, Robert J Boylan, Douglas E Morse, and David L Glotzer.
• Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion, New York University College of Dentistry, 345 E. 24th Street, New York City, NY 10010, USA.
• J Am Dent Assoc. 2008 Aug 1;139(8):1067-73.

BackgroundMembers of the established public health systems and medical community must understand that, in medical surge events, members of the dental profession and other non-traditional disaster health care personnel are an additional source of assistance in response activities.MethodsThe authors relied on hands-on experience, expert consultations, literature reviews and Web searches to identify disaster response training programs appropriate for members of the dental profession and other health care personnel.ResultsThe authors identified multiple governmental and professional disaster training programs.ConclusionsFive key national-level programs address the training and organization of health care professionals to support a large-scale disaster program. Because of their training and skills, dental professionals would be valuable additions to these programs and could make significant contributions if natural disasters and/or terrorist events were to occur.

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