The incidence of medical emergencies in the dental setting is extremely small. The requirement of effective preparation is therefore increased due to the rarity of such events.

The General Dental Council Maintaining Standards^[1] stated in 2001 that the whole of the dental team should practice the management of simulated medical emergencies against the clock, on a regular basis. This document has now been superseded by Standards for Dental Professionals² the duty of care which a dentist and their team accept when treating a patient. This should include not only the management of the complications of that treatment, but also the management of medical incidents within the dental environment. With the increased availability of automated external defibrillators means there is a greater expectation on the dental profession to provide trained help.

The Medical Emergencies and Resuscitations for Dental Practices course has been specifically designed for Dental Practitioners and Dental Care Professionals, so they can identify and initiate basic management of clinical emergencies. This course follows the Standards for Clinical Training for Dental Practitioners and Dental Care Professionals, as published by the Resuscitation Council (UK) 2006³ This course is run over 4 hrs and is an ideal initial and refresher training course for health care professionals. The course meets the requirements of annual Continual Professional Development training, and will award 4 hours of verifiable CPD. Pre Med Health Care provides up to date training in keeping with current best practice guidelines on Medical Emergencies and CPR. Many Dental Practices are combining their Medical Emergencies and Resuscitations training with an Automated External Defibrillation course - providing a 1 day training course with 6hrs verifiable CPD Pre Med Health Care courses are in line with the GDC recommendations and The Resuscitation Council UK, using Adult and Paediatric manikins to simulate the real environment. This includes monitoring the patient and identifying patients who are at risk or are becoming critically ill.

Medical Emergencies and Resuscitation Course (4 hours) The course will cover the following:

· ABCDE assessment approach

· Emergency drugs

· Emergency medical equipment

· Initial treatment of medical emergencies - including

asthma, anaphylaxis, cardiac emergencies, epilepsy, hypoglycaemia, epileptic seizures,syncope,

choking and adrenal insufficiency

· Care of the unconscious patient

· Airway obstruction and insertion of simple airway adjuncts

· Administration of oxygen

· BLS theory and CPR - practice on adult and paediatric manikins

· Ventilations using pocket mask and bag-valve-mask resuscitator

Dental Basic Life Support Only Course (3 hours)

· Care of the unconscious patient

· Airway obstruction and insertion of simple airway adjuncts

· Administration of oxygen

· BLS theory and CPR - practice on adult and paediatric manikins

· Ventilations using pocket mask and bag-valve-mask resuscitator

AED Course (2 hours) (Only Availabe as an Add-On Course)

· Chain of Survival

· Identifying team roles

· Diagnosing Cardiac Arrest

· Cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR)

· Automated External Defibrillator (AED)

· Basic understanding of the heart and conduction system

· Basic cardiac rhythms and arrhythmias-

Normal Sinus Rhythm - Ventricular Fibrillation (VF) - Ventricular Tachycardia (VT) - Asystole

· The safe use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs)

· Maintaining AEDs and record keeping

· Post resuscitation care Legal and ethical Issues Involved in resuscitation Links

Resuscitation Council UK

The British Dental Association

References1. Maintaining Standards (2001) General Dental Council, London2. Standards for dental professionals (2005) General Dental Council, London3. Standards for Clinical Training for Dental Practitioners and Dental Care Professionals, A Statement from The Resuscitation Council (UK) July 2006, Revised May 2008