Peter M Bertrand, DDS

Peter M Bertrand received his BS from Union College in Schenectady NY in 1973. Then, after accepting a scholarship from the Navy, he earned his DDS from Georgetown University in 1977 before embarking on a 30 year career in the Navy. In addition to assignments on both coasts, and tours in Iceland and the Philippines, he received his Periodontics Certificate from the Naval Postgraduate School in Bethesda, MD in 1985 and his Orofacial Pain Certificate from the University of Kentucky in 1993. From 1993 to 2007 when he retired from the Navy as a Captain, he was continuously stationed at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. At Bethesda, he was the senior professor at the Naval Postgraduate Dental School, and in 2000, founded the Orofacial Pain Center for the Department of Defense. The Center receives chronic facial patients from military locations throughout the world, conducts numerous educational programs, and researches the physiological bases of head and neck pain. Following his active duty career, Dr. Bertrand returned to the National Naval Medical Center as a Research Coordinator and a clinician with a practice focused on refractory pain patients. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and the American Board of Orofacial Pain, a FDA panelist and consultant, participates with numerous national groups, and lectures widely on pain subjects. He believes that the term psycho-genic should be replaced by neuro-genic; meaning that all conditions have physiological causes. Among his academic and research pursuits is work on a book that reviews the physiological bases of orofacial pain and the co-morbid conditions that afflict people plagued by chronic trigeminal pain. He is a recipient of the Navy Legion of Merit Medal and the Carl Schlack Award from the American Military Surgeons of the United States.

He lives in Annapolis, Maryland with his Patricia, his wife of 30 years. They have one wonderful daughter, Alexandra, a junior in college.