Handbook of Dental Therapeutics

Medical emergencies occur rarely in dental practice. When they do occur, however, they can be both dangerous for the patient and unnerving for the clinician. If these events have been planned for, staff will be adequately trained, the correct medications on hand and their method of use easily recalled, so these rare and disturbing events can be managed with good outcomes. It has been reported that only one resuscitation event occurs for every 250 years of dental practice (1). Although this may seem rare, when it does occur, the event can be life threatening. Therefore, staff training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with regular updates is mandatory. Previous studies have reported very high uptake of CPR training, yet about 20% of dentists felt inadequately prepared and were less likely to have the necessary drugs and equipment in their practice (2). The single most important factor for prevention of medical emergencies in dental practice is the taking of a thorough medical history for each patient.