Emergency medical care in dentistry: A cross sectional analysis of competencies for undergraduate students

Abstract

Background: The possibility of a medical crisis, albeit a relatively uncommon occurrence in a dental practice, is often overlooked and it is imperative that dental practitioners equip themselves with the knowledge and skills essential to manage potentially life-threatening situations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and competency levels of dental undergraduate students training across universities in the UAE in basic life support (BLS) and medical emergencies in a dental setting. Methods: A cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted and 411 students undergoing clinical training (4 th and 5 th year of dental school) voluntarily participated in this study. The questionnaire comprised questions related to commonly occurring medical emergencies that they may have encountered in a dental setting. Data collected were then tabulated and subjected to descriptive statistical analysis. Results: More than half of the respondents (55.2%) reported that they had lower confidence in handling medical emergencies, with 54.7% claiming that they had not received training on the subject during their undergraduate course. Majority of the respondents (216) reported that they would only choose to record vital signs if the medical history of the patient was indicative of an underlying condition. Discussion: Findings from the present study strongly mandate the inclusion of training for BLS and medical emergencies in the existing dental curriculum to equip graduate dental practitioners to handle a medical crisis in their dental practice.

To Assess Knowledge of Basic Life Support among Dental Graduates in Terms of Handling Medical Emergencies

“…Studies have been done at international level regarding occurrence of medical emergencies, a study done in Australia denotes 1 in 7 dentists encountered medical emergencies and had to perform BLS 10 . A study in United Kingdom was done which resulted that every dentist faced 1.9 (almost 2 cases) of syncope in his practice 6 .…”

“…Studies have revealed that most of medical and dental graduates felt the need of BLS training, very few have attended any skill workshop and were confident enough to execute the knowledge of BLS. [9][10] Therefore, dental students must have knowledge of basic life support maneuvers and skill to perform when needed. The fundamental principles of basic life support and a consideration of the management of common emergency medical conditions must be included of the dental education and training.…”

Measuring the Level of Medical-Emergency-Related Knowledge among Senior Dental Students and Clinical Trainers

“…The study findings revealed that the video clips and animation helped dental students to understand and recognize the causes of medical emergencies and implement their understanding of physiology to the scenario and significantly improved their competency to answer various clinical questions. It can be argued that online modules may be a useful tool to promote students’ perceptions of the basic sciences and increase their ability to use basic science content to important scenarios in the clinical practice [ 21 , 22 ].…”