• Lei Wang, Jian-hua Wei, Li-sheng He, Meng Cao, Jian Cao, Yan-pu Liu, De-lin Lei, and Yi-min Zhao.
• Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
• J Am Dent Assoc. 2009 May 1;140(5):543-9.

BackgroundA major earthquake struck Sichuan province, China, on May 12, 2008, and the authors were involved in the medical response to the disaster in Jiangyou City, an area hard-hit by the quake. In this article, they analyze data about the earthquake-related facial injuries and assess dentistry's role in treating them.MethodsThis descriptive study included review of medical records for 4,582 patients with earthquake-related trauma at eight hospitals in Jiangyou, a city severely affected by the earthquake, for the day of the disaster and the 14 days immediately afterward.ResultsOf the 4,582 patients, 408 (8.9 percent) sustained a total of 482 facial injuries. The dental team treated patients with facial injuries and others who needed care.ConclusionsFacial injuries constitute a significant portion of earthquake-related trauma, and dentists therefore are an important part of the medical team that deals with such trauma. Dentists are a reliable force in the medical response to earthquakes and other disasters.Clinical ImplicationsThe dental team should play an important role in disaster response. Establishing oral and maxillofacial surgeon (OMS)/dentist reserves and active leagues that use OMSs' and general dentists' offices as bases can help improve disaster response.

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