IADR Abstract Archives
Medical emergencies in dental practice among Tunisian dentists
Objectives: The main objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of emergencies in dental practices and to investigate Tunisian dentists behaviour.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study led among Tunisian dentists. A self administered questionnnaire was distributed to a 150 practioners working in private and government dental clinics in th region of sahel. Questions were about emergency situations,equipment in their disposal and training and self-evaluation of competences in the managing of medical emergencies in their dental office.
Results: One hundred and nine dentists returned the questionnaires yielding a response rate of 72.6%. The majority were female (53%) and 93.5% worked in private dental clinics. About 93.6% of the respondents reported having encountred any episodes of medical emergencies. The most prevalent emergency was hypoglycemia (reported by 89% of respondents), followed by vasovagal syncope (75%) and only 11% had faced a cardiac arrest. Only 37.7% of the dentists judged themselves capable to diagnose the cause of an emergency during a dental visit and the majority of them (77%) reported that they had not emergency kits in their clinics.
Conclusions: The most prevalent medical emergencies in dental practice are vasovagal syncope and hypoglycemia. The occurence of life-threatening medical emergencies like cardiac arrest is rare. Tunisian dentists are not fully prepared to manage medical emergencies.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study led among Tunisian dentists. A self administered questionnnaire was distributed to a 150 practioners working in private and government dental clinics in th region of sahel. Questions were about emergency situations,equipment in their disposal and training and self-evaluation of competences in the managing of medical emergencies in their dental office.
Results: One hundred and nine dentists returned the questionnaires yielding a response rate of 72.6%. The majority were female (53%) and 93.5% worked in private dental clinics. About 93.6% of the respondents reported having encountred any episodes of medical emergencies. The most prevalent emergency was hypoglycemia (reported by 89% of respondents), followed by vasovagal syncope (75%) and only 11% had faced a cardiac arrest. Only 37.7% of the dentists judged themselves capable to diagnose the cause of an emergency during a dental visit and the majority of them (77%) reported that they had not emergency kits in their clinics.
Conclusions: The most prevalent medical emergencies in dental practice are vasovagal syncope and hypoglycemia. The occurence of life-threatening medical emergencies like cardiac arrest is rare. Tunisian dentists are not fully prepared to manage medical emergencies.