DEN-SOP-005: Dental medical emergency response

Standards › Standard 31 › Standard operating procedures (SOPs)

Standard operating procedure (SOP) · DEN-SOP-005 · Version 1.0 · Approved by the ASF Expert Committee

Supports: 31.13

At a glance

Each clinical staff member is trained in dental medical emergencies and has a recorded role.
Emergency drills are rehearsed at the set interval (DEN-REG-004).
The emergency equipment is used as trained (HOS-FRM-013 for the resuscitation record).
Every emergency is recorded and reviewed.
Stop and get help straight away if: a clinical staff member on duty has not been trained in medical emergencies.

1. Purpose

To make sure the team responds to a medical emergency in the chair quickly and in the right order (31.13).

2. Scope

Applies to	Clinical and support staff in the hospital
Locations	All wards, clinics and departments of the facility
When	Whenever the activity described is carried out
Does not apply to	Activities covered by another document listed in section 15

3. Definitions

Term	Meaning
Clinical lead	The doctor or nurse in charge of the area at the time

4. Background

A dental emergency happens quickly, and the first minutes decide the outcome. Every clinical staff member, not only the dentist, must be trained to respond.

5. Responsibilities

Role	Responsibility	Competence
Clinical lead	Leads the response and assigns roles	Clinical director
Each team member	Carries out the assigned role	Clinical lead

6. Materials and equipment

Item	Requirement	Condition
Records and forms named in this document	Current version	Checked before use

7. Safety

Stop and call for help if a patient is at immediate risk. Do not delay urgent care to complete paperwork.

8. Before you start

Confirm the forms and equipment named in this document are available and current.

9. Procedure

Step 1. Recognise and call.

Stop treatment, call for help and call the emergency number in the clinic.

Key point: Called.

Step 2. Assign roles.

The clinical lead assigns the airway, breathing, circulation and equipment roles.

Key point: Assigned.

Step 3. Treat and record.

Treat by the trained sequence and record the emergency and its outcome (HOS-FRM-013).

Key point: Recorded.

10. Decision points

No decision points in this procedure.

11. Special situations

Situation	Action
Out of hours	Follow the same steps. Use the on-call contact on the wall of the area.

12. Escalation

Any serious problem goes to the duty clinical lead at once and to the clinical director the same day.

13. Monitoring

Measure	Target	Frequency	Owner	If not met
Clinical staff trained in the emergency sequence	100%	Annual	Clinical director	Escalate to the medical director

14. Records

Record	Kept in	Retention
Record named in this document	Patient record or the area file	the period set by the facility’s records policy years

15. Training

Staff are trained in this document at induction and refreshed each year, with a recorded competency check.

16. Related documents

ID	Title	Use
DEN-REG-004	Dental emergency equipment and drug check register	Register
HOS-FRM-013	Resuscitation record (existing, reused)	Record

17. Evidence

Reference	Note
E-009	Based on the CDC guidelines for infection control in dental health-care settings (Kohn et al., 2003), ISO 17665 for moist-heat sterilisation, the Minamata Convention on Mercury (2013), IAEA Specific Safety Guide SSG-46 (2018), Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom, and the ADA guidelines on sedation (2016).
E-006	ASF Policy Framework v1.2. Adapted.
E-009	ASF Expert Committee consensus.

18. Change history

Version	Date	What changed	Approval
1.0	the date of approval	First version	set Expert Committee approval

E-learning for this document

Emergency Medical Equipment & AED Readiness (MED-02)

References

Accréditation Sans Frontières (2026). ASF Policy Framework v1.2. (E-006)
Accréditation Sans Frontières (2026). ASF Expert Committee consensus on Standard 1. (E-009)

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