Preparedness of dental students to manage medical emergencies in clinical dental set-up: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey

Background: Medical emergencies are inevitable in clinical dental set-up. They put the well-being of patients at risk. If addressed properly, severity of such episodes can be brought down significantly. So the aim of this study was to assess the preparedness of dental students to manage medical emergencies in dental clinics. Materials and method: This cross-sectional survey was done among 147 graduate and postgraduate students of a dental college in South India. The participants filled self-administered questionnaire consisting of 23 close-ended questions. Descriptive analysis using Chi-square test was done to compare two groups. P-value of <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Result: Amongst 147 participants, around three-fourth of study participants have encountered medical emergency during clinics. Around three-fourth of students has received theoretical training but still majority of participants feel they are incompetent to handle medical emergencies. Most of them are willing to undergo proper training to handle medical emergencies and also support the addition of separate ALS and BLS course. Majority of PGs and three-fourth graduates knew how to perform BLS, CPR but administration of IM, IV and SC injections were known to less than one-third of students. Conclusion: Dental professionals should be confident and prepared to deal with medical emergencies arising during their practice. Reforms in dental curriculum and thorough training of dental students at an initial stage will help to increase their confidence and competence to deal with medical emergencies.