Prevalence of emergency events in dental practice and emergency management of dentists

Abstract

Purpose of the study: Medical emergencies in dental practice are generally perceived as being rare but when an emergency does occur it can be life-threatening. The ability of the dentist to initiate management is the key to minimizing morbidity and mortality. Few studies exist about the occurrence of emergencies in dental practice and the training experience of dental practice teams in life support. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of emergencies in dental practices and their training experience.Material and methods: An anonymous questionnaire survey was submitted by phone call to the 240 clinics and hospitals from Oporto city listed in the Health Control Institution during 6 months. This questionnaire was performed by three Anesthesiologists from our institution.Results: We had a response rate of 25%. 66% of the responders were male and 34% female. 42% work in a dental office, 52% in a clinical and 6% in a hospital. 67% reported an emergency during their practice and only 33% did not have any emergency situation. The most frequently reported emergency was syncope (59%), followed by hypoglycemia (53%), asthma (34%), hypertensive crisis (34%), epileptic fit (30%) and anaphylaxis (21%). 58% of dentists felt competent to treat syncope and 46% to treat a hypoglycemia. However 90% felt unable to manage a cardiac arrest, 95% a hypertensive crisis and 96% asthma. 97% underwent training in medical emergencies. 77% of the dentists considered important to have more emergency training.Conclusion: Medical emergencies are not rare in dental practice, although most of them are not life-threatening. Future postgraduate training in emergency care for dentists needs to be more accurately targeted to the known prevalence of emergencies and deficiencies in dentist's emergency skills. Purpose of the study: Medical emergencies in dental practice are generally perceived as being rare but when an emergency does occur it can be life-threatening. The ability of the dentist to initiate management is the key to minimizing morbidity and mortality. Few studies exist about the occurrence of emergencies in dental practice and the training experience of dental practice teams in life support. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of emergencies in dental practices and their training experience. Material and methods: An anonymous questionnaire survey was submitted by phone call to the 240 clinics and hospitals from Oporto city listed in the Health Control Institution during 6 months. This questionnaire was performed by three Anesthesiologists from our institution. Results: We had a response rate of 25%. 66% of the responders were male and 34% female. 42% work in a dental office, 52% in a clinical and 6% in a hospital. 67% reported an emergency during their practice and only 33% did not have any emergency situation. The most frequently reported emergency was syncope (59%), followed by hypoglycemia (53%), asthma (34%), hypertensive crisis (34%), epileptic fit (30%) and anaphylaxis (21%). 58% of dentists felt competent to treat syncope and 46% to treat a hypoglycemia. However 90% felt unable to manage a cardiac arrest, 95% a hypertensive crisis and 96% asthma. 97% underwent training in medical emergencies. 77% of the dentists considered important to have more emergency training. Conclusion: Medical emergencies are not rare in dental practice, although most of them are not life-threatening. Future postgraduate training in emergency care for dentists needs to be more accurately targeted to the known prevalence of emergencies and deficiencies in dentist's emergency skills.