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Lori Murdock
Clint Schmidt
GEOG 1700
29 April 2015
Project #2 Maintaining Dental Hygiene in an Earthquake
I am planning on majoring in dental hygiene at Utah Valley University after I finish up
with my associates at Salt Lake Community College. At first when I saw that for this assignment
I would have to describe what someone in my major could contribute to dealing with a disaster, I
didnt think there was anything we could do. Then I thought about it and looked it up on the
internet and was surprised what I found; even dental hygienists can play a role in helping people
recover from a natural disaster! The natural disaster Im going to focus on is earthquakes.
To prepare for a disaster, a dental hygienist could make sure that the medical office is
equipped with emergency essentials. I was reading one article that said a surprising amount of
dental practices lack the basic recommended drugs or an AED (Laughter). I just took a CPR
and First Aid class this past Wednesday and I learned how useful AEDs are. This could really
come in handy in the case of an earthquake and should be kept on hand as a precaution. It would
also be helpful for everyone in the dental office to know first aid so they can be prepared to care
for anyone that needs help, even if it doesnt have to do with teeth.

It would also be smart to

have a small food storage in the workroom of the dental office just in case the patients and
dentists get trapped inside because of the earthquake and cant leave to get food elsewhere.
There is no way to know when something like that may come in handy. I believe preventative
measures solve problems better than trying to come up with solutions after the fact.
I learned that facial injuries constitute a significant portion of earthquake-related
trauma (Wang). So during the aftermath of a disaster, Dentists and Dental Hygienists can care
for these people and get them back into good health. Dental Hygienists know how to care for
these facial injuries so they play a very important role after an earthquake or natural disaster
occurs.

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For example, on May 12, 2008 there was a major earthquake that hit the Sichuan
province in China. A medical group worked on 4,582 patients and of those patients, there were
482 facial injuries. I thought that was very interesting information because I didnt think an
earthquake could cause that many problems dealing with the mouth that a dental team could help
out with. This dental team was the main factor in helping these patients.
Dental Hygienists can help people with adapting to the effects of the disaster long term
and short term by focusing on maintaining their patients good oral health habits. After a natural
disaster, the food survivors are given alters their sense of taste which is shown to cause teeth to
rot several months after the earthquakes occurrence (Hosokawa). On top of that, it is difficult to
practice good oral hygiene after a disaster because of the lack of supplies and people dont see it
as important or necessary. Dental Hygienists can promote people to continue to brush and floss
so their teeth by handing out oral care supplies so their teeth will continue to stay healthy long
term, even after the effects of the disaster fade.
In conclusion, I learned a lot about how Dental Hygienists can be involved in caring for
people after an earthquake or natural disaster. Dental personal are actively involved in the
helping care for patients oral health during those crucial moments after a disaster hits and long
term. I believe any profession a person goes into can have some impact on the outcomes of
disasters when they know how to use their skills effectively.
Works Cited
Laughter, Lory. "State of Emergency." Registered Dental Hygienist. PennWell Corporation, 14
Nov. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.
Hosokawa, Taura, Ito, and Koseki. "Roles of Dentists and Dental Hygienists in Two Major
Earthquakes." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of
Medicine, Dec. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.
Wang, Wei, He LS, Cao M, Cao J, Liu YP, Lei DL, and Zhao YM. "Dentists' Role in Treating
Facial Injuries Sustained in the 2008 Earthquake in China: How Dental

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Professionals Can Contribute to Emergency Response." National Center for
Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, May 2009. Web. 29
Apr. 2015.