The perception and cognitive aspects of dental students regarding medical emergencies and urgent situations that arise during dental care

A medical emergency is defined as the sudden onset of a condition of varying origin and
severity that requires immediate attention, as it could endanger the patient's life. In
dentistry, such situations can arise from the administration of local anaesthetics, the use
of medications, handling materials, surgical procedures or the patient's pre-existing
medical conditions, to name a few. Therefore, it is essential that general dentists have
the necessary knowledge to recognise and manage these events properly.
This study aimed to evaluate students' perceptions and cognitive understanding of
medical emergencies and urgent situations from Clinic III to Clinic VII of the Dentistry
programme at the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU). A structured
questionnaire containing closed questions was administered to a sample of 112
students. This explored basic cognitive aspects related to frequent emergencies in the
dental office, as well as the students' perception of their preparedness. The data were
analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including Student's t-test and
analysis of variance.
Regarding the perception-related results, most students stated that they did not feel
prepared to deal with a medical emergency in a clinical setting, and that a specific
subject should be implemented as part of their training. Additionally, although most
students recognise the importance of knowing how to deal with medical emergencies
and claim to understand some basic concepts, this does not translate into adequate
mastery of the subject.
The cognitive aspect results showed that 75.9% of participants obtained a low score on
the questionnaire, indicating poor knowledge. Only 2.7% achieved a good score. No
statistically significant differences were found according to clinical level, gender or age.
Taken together, these findings suggest opportunities for improvement in the students'
training process, especially with regard to their approach to medical emergencies. This
could be taken into account to strengthen certain aspects within the academic field.