Medical Emergencies In The Dental Office : No one should
die In a dental office, but...
Introduction to the MET or Institute for Medical Emergency Training Certificate through Goldman Dental Management
Every dentist AND their staff can expect to be involved in the diagnosis and treatment of medical emergencies during your practice lifetime. Dentists perform daily clinical procedures that could lead to a medical emergency, or they may occur by chance in the office. Any one of many medical emergencies can occur during dental treatment, it is best practices that dictates dental offices must be rescue ready with a medical emergency preparedness program. It is critical to provide effective basic life support (BLS), Call 911 and activate an emergency response plan in a timely manner. Dentists AND their Staff must be able to diagnose and treat common emergencies such as syncope, but also respond effectively & competently to potentially life-threatening emergencies like anaphylaxis. Some medical emergencies can be treated properly without drugs, but every dental office must have a basic emergency drug kit that contains drugs and equipment ready to treat that unannounced medical emergency. Mock drills cannot be ignored by the dentist and their staff because by doing so, your performance during an emergency will be poor.
Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance!
No emergency drug or piece of emergency equipment can take the place of a properly trained Dental Office in responding and treating patients having a medical emergency. A Medical Emergency is a TEAM issue and needs to be handled that way! Doing this Solo could be catastrophic!
Early recognition along with Calling 911 and proper management will increase the likelihood of a successful response. Accomplishing this depends on the dedication of the dentist and staff towards training and preparation on a regular, ongoing continual basis. This is a very comprehensive program that is dedicated to the TEAM. This MUST be done on an annual basis in order to perform properly.
Electing to have the mindset of not pursuing an active medical emergency preparedness, could lead to dire consequences for both patient and dentist.