 Corresponding author: Manish Badgujar Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontincs, SMBT Dental College & Hospital, Sangamner , India. Copyright © 2022 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0. Common medical emergencies in dentistry: A review Sathish Abraham, Manish Badgujar * , Pradnya Nagmode and Nitin Lokhande Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, SMBT Dental College & Hospital, Sangamner, India. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2022, 15(03), 443–449 Publication history: Received on 14 August 2022; revised on 22 September 2022; accepted on 24 September 2022 Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2022.15.3.0929 Abstract A medical emergency, no matter where it happens, demands immediate treatment. When it occurs in a dental set-up, it is expected of Dentist and his/her staff to have the basic knowledge to recognize, assess and manage a potentially life- threatening situation until the patient can be transported to a medical facility. For that, the staff in the clinic should be well trained to act accordingly in different types of medical emergencies that can occur at any given time. This review article deals with different kinds of medical emergencies that can occur in a dental set-up and how that can be recognized and managed. Keywords: Dental procedure; Syncope; Medical emergency; Hypertension; Anaphylaxis 1. Introduction The management of medical emergencies is widely considered a requisite skill for all dentists. Timely intervention of an emergency can significantly alter the outcome for a patient’s morbidity and possible mortality. Although medical emergencies do not occur commonly in dental practice, their incidence is not insignificant and dental practitioners are expected to be adept in their initial management [1]. When presented with an emergency, it is not uncommon for a first responder to be affected by panic or indecision, potentially delaying the response time for critical care, and thereby resulting in increased morbidity or mortality for the patient [2]. Should such a situation arise in their clinic, dental practitioners and their teams need to be confident and up to date with their medical emergency management skills in order to provide quality initial treatment of an emergency. Medical emergencies can be alarming to any clinician but these situations are less alarming if proper preparation has been made. It is particularly important in the history to enquire about known allergies or adverse reactions to medication so that these can be avoided [3]. Good methods of practice can prevent many emergencies, for example prompt treatment of a diabetic patient at a predictable time thereby avoiding hypoglycaemia. Dental procedures themselves can jeopardize the airway, which must therefore be adequately protected. Patients with pre-existing medical conditions, such as asthma or angina, will usually be taking prescription medications [4]and the practitioner should always check that these are readily available and have been taken on the day of treatment [5]. Patients who have an asthma attack and who have not brought their normal medication will not be helped significantly by oxygen alone (because of the bronchoconstriction). It is therefore vital that patients with asthma bring their inhalers with them or that they are available in the emergency drug box. The common emergencies that may occur in dental practice will be discussed in turn and refer to adult patients. In all these situations the basic principles of resuscitation should be remembered, i.e., attention to the Airway, Breathing, and Circulation [6]. Key points in the management of medical emergencies in practice are given in Table below.