We thank Dr. Reinhart for his recent letter to The Journal regarding our article entitled "National Emergency Response Programs for Dental Health Care Professionals" (
JADA 2008;139[8]1067–1073[Abstract/Free Full Text]
). We hope his letter will stimulate discussion by the Associations members regarding the proper balance among professional demands, personal income needs and our obligations to the communities that provide each of us our livelihood.
While this type of volunteerism is not for every dentist, we are heartened by the many private dental practitioners who already have volunteered for training, and we hope more will participate in the future to help make the country even more resilient. We are proud of the ADAs position on the training of dentists for disaster pre-paredness, and we thank Dr. Reinhart for pointing out his concerns.