ADEPTNESS OF PEDODONTISTS IN MANAGING DENTAL CLINIC MEDICAL EMERGENCIES - A CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY

Roshni A. Bhatt; Megha C. Patel; Rohan K. Bhatt; Nasrin A. Gori

Volume : IX, Issue : VIII, August - 2020

ADEPTNESS OF PEDODONTISTS IN MANAGING DENTAL CLINIC MEDICAL EMERGENCIES - A CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY

Roshni A. Bhatt, Megha C. Patel, Rohan K. Bhatt, Nasrin A. Gori

Abstract :

INTRODUCTION: Dental treatment can be stress inducing situations for many patients due to anxiety or dental phobia. In such cases medical emergencies can likely be encountered in dental settings by practioners. If such emergencies ensue, it falls upon the dental practitioner to identify and manage the situation providing obligate care to the patient. Lack of awareness, knowledge and training to deal with such circumstances can lead to serious unanticipated complications and possible medicolegal actions. AIM: To assess the attitude, adeptness and awareness in managing medical emergencies among Pediatric dentists and Post Graduates of Gujarat. METHOD: This was a cross–sectional study wherein a self–constructed online survey questionnaire of 17 closed ended questions was designed and validated. The questionnaire was mailed to 150 people which included Post Graduates and Pediatric Dentists of Gujarat out of which a total of 104 responses were accounted. Descriptive statistics were performed using SPSS 20.0 version. RESULT: Around 84.7 % of the responders had encountered medical emergency in their practice out of which syncope and epileptic seizures were more commonly experienced. Out of all the responders only 15.7 % were confident enough to administer emergency drug via IV or IM if required. CONCLUSION: There is good amount of knowledge and awareness found amongst the Pediatric dentists and Post graduate students. However, they lack the skills required to manage the emergency situations if encountered. Therefore, to increase the efficiency of the immediate care, training programmes like Basic Cardiopulmonary life support and Simulation Lab. courses should be mandatory in the curriculum.