The Role of Dentists in Environmental Health Services in Disaster Settings
Chapter from the book:
Sümer,
E.
H.
&
Nur,
N.
(eds.)
2026.
Environmental Health in Disasters: A Conceptual Framework, Health Services Management, and Multidisciplinary Approaches.
Synopsis
The primary goal of health services in disasters is to rapidly control life‑threatening conditions and to protect public health in a sustainable manner. Within this framework, environmental health must encompass oral health alongside water and sanitation, hygiene, nutrition, and infection control. Disasters negatively affect oral health through damaged health infrastructure, limited access to clean water and hygiene materials, nutritional disturbances, and psychological stress, leading to an increase in dental caries, periodontal diseases, oral infections, and traumatic maxillofacial injuries. Tooth fractures, avulsions, jaw fractures, and soft tissue injuries require urgent management due to risks related to airway compromise, infection, and functional loss. Infection control in the field should rely on adapted sterilization methods, use of disposable materials, rational antibiotic policies, and basic oral hygiene education. In temporary shelters, inclusion of toothbrushes, toothpaste and similar items in basic hygiene kits, together with community‑based education programs, is crucial to reduce risk, particularly among children and older adults. Dentists play key roles in field hospitals and mobile clinics by managing trauma and odontogenic infections, supporting triage, collecting epidemiological data, providing health education, and contributing to forensic identification in mass casualty events. In Türkiye, systematic integration of dental services into the national disaster management structure (AFAD, TAMP), planning of mobile dental units, and strengthening disaster‑oriented dental education are recommended. In conclusion, the comprehensive integration of dental services into national disaster management plans will significantly contribute to the protection of population health after disasters and to enhancing the resilience of the health system.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Ergün Haldun Sümer- Naim Nur; Serkan Çelikgün- İmran Şahin Düz- Sanem Nemmezi Karaca- Naim Nur- Nagehan Ekici Koşaroğlu- Nurcan Bağlam- İrem Akova- Şahin Yıldırım- İbrahim Furkan Sarkım- Zeynep Sümer- Yaşam Deniz- Nuriye Dinç- Yeltekin Demirel- Emre Sarı- Elif Alıcı Bıyık- Veysel Kenan Çelik- Yusuf Kenan Tekin- İlhan Korkmaz- Gülaçan Tekin- Ergün Sümer- Gülay Yıldırım- Sema Merve Sümer- Ferdağ Yıldırım