Emergency Supplies and Equipment
1he final means of preparing for emergencies is by tonsuring that appropriate emergency drugs and equipment are available in the office. One. basic piece of equipment IS the dental chair that should be capable of all offering the patient to be placed in a flat position or, even better, in a head-down, feet-raised position (Fig. 2-1, A). In addition, the chair must be capable of being lowered close to the floor to allow BLS to be performed properly. Operatories should be large enough to 1I0wa patient to be placed on the floor for BLS performance and provide enough room for the dentist and others to deliver emergency care. If the operatory is too small to allow the patient to be placed on the floor, specially designed boards are available that can he placed under the patient’s thorax to allow BLS administration in the dental chair.
Emergency Supplies for the Dental Office
use or for others called’ into the office to assist during an emergency.
Useful drug administration equipment includes syringes and needles, tourniquets, intravenous (IV) solutions, indwelling catheters, and IV tubing (Table 2-1). Although emergency kits containing a variety of drugs are comrnercially available (Fig. 2-2), dentists may prefer to assemble
tj)in the 11 kits. This allows properly educated dentists to choose only those agents they feel are likely to be most useful during an emergency, It also helps the dentist to organize the kit in a manner that is easy to use during emergency situations. If dentists have made arrangements for help
from nearby professional, they may also want to include drugs in their kits that the assisting individuals suggest may be helpful. The drugs and any equipment in the kit must be well labeled and checked frequently for completeness and to ensure that no drugs have gone out of date. Labeling can in dude not only the drug name but also situations in which the .drug is most commonly used. A list of drugs that should be considered for neclusion in a dental office emergency kit appears in Table 2-2.
One emergency drug that must be available in dental offices is oxygen. Many dentists use oxygen supplied in a portable tank. If properly trained or assisted by a properly trained individual, the dentist needs to provide a
means of delivering the oxygen under positive ‘pressure to the patient. It is important to establish a system to periodically check that a sufficient supply of oxygen is always
available. Dentists who use a central oxygen system also need to have oxygen available that is portable-for use outside of the operator, such as in the waiting room or during transport to an emergency facility.