Medical Emergencies happen in dental offices.  They are not rare.  Dentists and their staff must be ready, there can be no exception.  Regarding dental office medical emergencies, it is not a question of "if" - rather it is a question of "when."

A dentist can expect a patient to have a medical emergency in his/her office once every two years of practice. 50% of those emergencies will be syncope. A medical emergency other than syncope can be expected to occur every four years. The first 10 minutes are critical in a life-threatening emergency.  This is an energetic, interactive lecture devoted to having dental hygienists ALSDH-Ready. Every Hygienist needs to be ALSDH-Ready!  A Medical emergency is a TEAM matter! Dentists need staff that are fully trained to handle the emotionally challenged state of mind one will be in when a life-threatening emergency does occur in their office. 

Empower Hygienists the ability to truly help and assist in saving a life.  Is the practice equipped and the Staff trained to handle the situation? Hygienists WILL be trained and know what to do for their offices after this lecture. 

OBJECTIVES:

-What to do in the first 10 minutes of a medical emergency

-Recognize adverse reactions to drugs and implement appropriate interventions for those causing a medical emergency

-ALSDH: Brief discussion of the program:

Module 1 – Anaphylaxis

            Module 2 – AED

            Module 3 – Emergency Medications

            Module 4 – Pediatric Emergency Preparation

            Module 5 – Airway Emergencies

            Module 6 - Local Anesthesia & Emergencies

-Understand and know the CORE 8 DRUGS (Critical Office Resuscitative Emergency Drugs) your office needs for medical emergencies:

-Recognize and discuss management of the DOME 16 (Dental Office Medical Emergencies):

-Legal Ramifications of adverse events in dental offices

-Case Presentations involving various medical emergencies that occurred in dental offices

-Describe all contents within the emergency drug kit and know their uses

-Medical emergency algorithms

-HyperDiabesity: The Terrible Triad of Hypertension/Diabetes/Obesity

-Medical Emergency Mock Drill for Dentist and Staff with each role defined for each medical emergency

-Emergency Drug Checklist development for the dental office 

-C.A.N.A.L. Acronym for medical emergency recall

-Patient Red Flags

-Patient Risk Factor Matrix