Medical Emergencies

Code of Practice regarding Medical Emergencies within the Practice of Dentistry

An ‘emergency’ is a medical condition that demands your immediate attention and good management to enable a successful outcome. These are life-threatening situations that every practitioner needs to be aware of to help prevent preventable injury, illness or death, and to minimise the consequences of unavoidable emergencies.

This guidance is issued under Section 66 of the Dentists Act 1985 which requires the Dental Council to guide the dental profession on all aspects of ethical conduct and behaviour. The Dental Council’s primary role is to protect the public. We produced this code to enable dental practitioners and their teams to ensure that the relevant emergency drugs and equipment are available in the event of a medical emergency.

All dental healthcare professionals are ethically obliged to maintain the knowledge and competence to deal with medical emergencies. If you do not comply with this guidance, it may result in Fitness to Practise proceedings being taken against you under the Dentists Act 1985.

31 May 2023

Code of Practice regarding Medical Emergencies (May 2023)