The most common dental medical emergency

What is the most common dental medical emergency?
Thankfully syncope or fainting. I say thankfully because syncope is generally short in duration and having very few side effects (a bumped skull being about the worst). Usually the patient regains consciousness in about 10 to 15 seconds and often doesn't even remember the episode.
A few Facts;

50% of fainting occurs just before or during the administration of L.A.
The patient (usually a big construction worker!) sees the needle...knows it's coming, tenses up, holds his breath...and goes limp. The reason for this is simple; The brain is being deprived of blood. When a person tenses up, blood is constricted by the muscle tissues, and the patient also holds their breath in an attempt to 'take the pain' of the injection.

The easiest way to avoid syncope in the dental chair, is to drop the chair into the supine position(horizontal with feet slightly elevated above the head) just prior to giving your injection. This way blood flows to the brain and the dentist has a clearer shot, so everybody wins.

About 25% of fainting patients do so when standing up immediately after a procedure. Again, this is due to a momentary drop in the amount of blood being distributed to the brain when the patient gets up. The best way to avoid this is to elevate the back of the chair and have the patient sit for a moment. (about as long as it takes them to rinse...If you catch my drift...) Then help them stand. In rare cases, you may need to use an ammonia inhalant to wake the patient from slumber land, and administering oxygen for a few minutes will also help.

You will notice that I have not mentioned over injecting a patient, or CNS depressant overdose or stroke. These events are not common in the dental office, but when they do occur, are life threatening and require advanced medical attention immediately.

The second most common reason for fainting is hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. This can be more serious and will be discussed in a future blog post. For more information go to www.CLAMmedical.com to read more on medical emergencies in the dental office.