A LMOST certainly, even the most dedicated LX public servant employed in a large organization asks himself from time toi time these questions: Am I progressing satisfactorily in my work? Am I developing professionally? Am I considered for new and challenging opportunities when they arise within my organization? What assurance do I have that my professional interests and aptitudes are reicognized and conside.red when I am transferred to a new assignment? On the other hand, administrators with responsibility for the successful attainment of the objectives of a public agency are likely to ask themselves these corresponding questions: Is this employee capable of handling this new assignment? How can I be assured that he is the best candidate for this position? How can I meet and overcome the attractions offered by employment in some other organization? How can I meet the future needs of my program for trained and competent personnel? These significant questions are commonly ra,ised by two kinds of people: thos,e who do the work, and those responsible for getting them to do the work. The questions are concerned essentially with personnel retention, assignment, and development. Experience within the Public Health Service in dealing with these problems has led to the formulation of a, systematic procedure designed to overcome some of the major difficulties associated with the optimal use of dental officers. This procedure is called career development and is applied to the 350 active duty dental officers employed in the various dental activities of the Public Health Service. The career development program as discussed in this review does not cover civil service personnel employed in the several dental activities of the Service, and detailed considera,tion is given here only to career development as it pertains to the dental public health activity of the Service. Although the program in its present outlines has been in existence for only 2 years, its activities have been evolving gradually during a much longer period and are still undergoing change as circumstances dictate. In this regard, two important circumstances influencing the character of the program should be kept in mind. First, the Public Health Service does not have at this, time an official, comprehensive Service-wide career development program for officers of all professional categories; each category (or program) has developed its own method. Second, although all the dental activities of the Service participate in the conduct of the career development program for dental officers from the standpoint of general procedure and coordination, each individual dental activity follows, its own plan for training.