[Recommendations for basic emergency equipment in the dental office]

Medical emergencies in the dentist's office are a primary concern for dental surgeons. Since each individual therapist is personally responsible for the management of those eventualities, they must be properly trained to handle them. Prevention is still the most effective method for avoiding them, with clinical examination as the prime basis for their management. Some current factors that increase the possibility of office emergencies include: a raise in life expectancy rates, thus increasing the number of patients with chronic diseases; multiple and complex therapeutic regimes; patients under dialysis, immunosuppression, transplants, etc. Apart from proper training of the dental surgeon in managing medical emergencies, he must have adequate equipment for treating such events. This article aims to offer dentists a practical guide to emergency equipment, which must always be at his immediate disposal, as well as some practical guidelines for the use of drugs and some recommendations regarding the organization of such equipment.