The two most important things you can do to be prepared for a patient's medical emergency in your operatory (and protect your practice from a career-ending mistake) are... 1. Get online, on-demand training on how to properly handle a patient's emergency (for $5)
2. Conduct a mock medical emergency drill to practice what you learned in your training (with a FREE training guide)
Research shows that MOCK MEDICAL EMERGENCY DRILLS are the gold standard for competence among dental professionals in managing medical emergencies. (Notes 1, 2, and 3)
Despite this research, 4 out of 5 dentists have NEVER conducted a mock emergency drill since completing their initial education. (Note 4)
When dentists don't get recent training on handling emergencies nor practice what they learned with a mock drill, patients can die and careers can be ruined.
For example, the day his career effectively ended, Dr. Smith (name changed for privacy) started what he thought would be a routine procedure to prepare four teeth for crowns. His patient was nervous about being in the dentist’s chair. To calm the patient's anxiety, Dr. Smith decided to sedate him with Demerol and two anti-anxiety drugs.
During the procedure, the patient developed a rapid heart rate. Mucus had to be suctioned from the back of his throat. His lips turned blue due to a lack of oxygen. Eventually, Dr. Smith and his staff were unable to detect a pulse.
Unfortunately, Dr. Smith’s patient didn’t respond normally to the medications, and he and his staff were not prepared for the resulting emergency.
Eventually, they called 911 and EMTs arrived to transport the patient to the hospital. After a heart-wrenching four-day stay in the ICU, the patient died.
Dr. Smith closed his formerly successful practice. His career was ruined.
Experts reviewing this case highlighted the dental team's inability to recognize and respond to trouble when the patient reacted abnormally
Why do dentists put their patients and careers at risk by not being able to respond to a patient's medical emergency?
Two reasons... 1. Most have no idea how to get super-efficient emergency training for the whole team.
2. They don't know how to conduct an effective mock drill with the whole team.
(Or, they don't have a realistic view of the world and are constantly telling themselves, "It will never happen to me.") Here's how to get low-cost, super-efficient medical emergency training from experts for your whole dental team:
Watch a $5 online video. (Click on "Show All")
Here's how it works...
You pay $5 and get instant access to an online lesson that provides the exact treatment steps for one of 24 emergencies most likely to happen in a dental office.
Taught by a national expert in emergency preparation and training, every lesson covers signs & symptoms, clinical actions, and the emergency medications and equipment your team needs for an expertly handled emergency response.
All of the clinical information you need for each emergency is built into the lesson.
And, each lesson is worth 1 hour of continuing education credit from either ADA or AGD.
The training is appropriate for you, your assistants, and your hygienists.
There's no need to close the office and take your whole team on an expensive trip to a convention to get them trained. By taking our online video lessons, your dental team will get the knowledge and skills to then go practice the emergency with a mock drill.
Watch the video + practice it with a mock drill = lock the perfect emergency response into muscle memory.
Get your first on-demand lesson here. (Click on "Show All")
Here's how to get a FREE step-by-step guide on conducting effective mock drills with your whole dental team: Download our FREE sample Mock Emergergency Drills Guide.
This FREE guide shows you - step-by-step - how to:
Make your mock drills realistic
Create an office emergency response plan (a template is included)
Conduct emergency equipment readiness inspection (using an included checklist)
Conduct emergency medication readiness inspections (using our included checklist)
Create training records for your mock drills
Use a medical emergency treatment algorithm (chair-side Quick Reference Checklist)
This effective guide for conducting mock emergency drills will give you everything you need to prepare a dental team for a patient emergency, including, how to... 1. Practice realistic drills that give you muscle memory in a moment of crisis. 2. React quickly and expertly to a variety of emergencies. 3. KEEP a high level of readiness. This FREE guide for mock drills will give you a proven blueprint and framework for a great training session that can be done during a lunch break... everything a dentist needs to rock their training and protect their patients and their career.
Watch the video + practice it with a mock drill = lock the perfect emergency response into muscle memory.
Note 1: Solanki C, Geisinger ML, Luepke PG, et al. J Dent Educ. 2021;85:1462–1470.
Note 2: Pinsky HM, Le JM, Sweier DG, Marti K. Eur J Dent Educ Off J Assoc Dent Educ Eur. 2018;22:e19–e25.
Note 3: Manton JW, Kennedy KS, Lipps JA, Pfeil SA, Cornelius BW. Anesth Prog. 2021;68:76–84.
Note 4: McKenzie CT, Tilashalski K, Abou-Arraj R, Peterson DT, White ML. J Dent Educ. 2019;83:1142–1150
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