Role of Dental Professionals in Disaster Management: A Review

Abstract

Disasters are not confined to a particular part of the world; they can occur anywhere and at any time. Emergencies and disasters not only affect the health and well-being of people; frequently, a large number of people are dead, injured, or subjected to greater risk of epidemics. The fundamental aspects of Disaster Management include Disaster Response, Disaster preparedness, and disaster mitigation. Dentists are one of the important constituents of the health team, yet their role or utility has not been emphasized till date. The various activities carried out by Dentists for the purpose of Disaster Management include providing support to First responders, Disease surveillance, Forensic assistance, Triage duties, Definitive clinical treatments, Prescribing appropriate drugs, Vaccination programmes, Policymaking, etc. Forensic odontology also plays a major role in the identification of disaster victims with Dental Identification, DNA Identification, Palatoscopy, and Cheiloscopy. In the current scenario, Dental professionals have risen to the challenge in the fight against COVID -19 and have proved to be an invaluable resource in the pandemic response. Thus, in a developing country like India, where a disaster can fall at the strike of the clock, there is a need to harvest the services of the wide distribution of dental professionals practicing in the country.