We recently had an opportunity to join the Oregon Academy of Pediatric Dentistry for a Medical Emergencies in the Dental Office presentation that was put on by Dr. Steven Beadnell. The course was extremely informative and Dr. Beadnell discussed how to diagnosis, prevent, manage, and prepare for common Medical Emergencies that could occur in a dental office.
We were surprised to learn that that for most Medical Emergencies, Emergency Medical Services will not be able to respond immediately and in most cases, it will take over 10 minutes. We learned the catch phrase “10 minutes SAVES A LIFE” because every minute that a person’s heart is not beating, their chance of survival drops by more than 10%.
Dr. Beadnell stressed the importance of the entire team being prepared and ready for Medical Emergencies. He explained that being prepared is not just buying a first aid kit, taking a class, or creating a plan, but the ability for the team to execute when it matters. Dr. Beadnell highly recommends that all teams run Mock Emergency Drills at least quarterly to train for different types of scenarios.
Thank you Dr. Beadnell for the excellent presentation and to the OAPD for letting us join you.