Exhibit 31.1

Section 302 Certifications Statement

I, Gerald K. Kunkle, Jr., certify that:

1.    I have reviewed this Form 10-Q of DENTSPLY International Inc;

2.    Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
      statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary
      to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which
      such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period
      covered by this report;

3.    Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
      information included in this report, fairly present in all material
      respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows
      of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.    The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
      establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
      defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the
      registrant and have:

        (a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
        disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
        supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
        registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known
        to us by others within those entities, particularly during the
        period in which this report is being prepared;

        (b) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
        controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions
        about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures,
        as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such
        evaluation; and

        (c) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
        control over financial reporting that occurred during the
        registrant's most recent fiscal quarter that has materially
        affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the
        registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

5.    The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based
      on our most recent evaluation of internal controls over financial
      reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the
      registrant's board of directors:

        (a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
        design or operation of internal control over financial reporting
        which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's
        ability to record, process, summarize and report financial
        information; and

        (b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
        other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
        internal control over financial reporting.

Date: August 9, 2004




/s/ Gerald K. Kunkle, Jr.


Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer