Dental Tribune UK Edition, October 25-3, 2010, No.26 Vol.4

A revealing measure of a dentist’s level of care and commitment to patients’ needs can be found in the way they deal with emer- gencies. Many complaints and allegations of negligence involve a patient’s feelings of having been abandoned or ignored, when finding it was impossible to access dental care in an emergency situation. Pain If there is one particular treat- ment outcome, which has a particular propensity to inflame a patient’s sense of dissatisfac- tion, and to make a complaint or claim more likely, it is the on- set of pain. Whenever a patient experiences pain or severe dis- comfort following treatment, it may well be attributed to some kind of failure on the part of the clinician. The patient’s displeas- ure on these occasions is exac- erbated if the dentist is unavail- able (or inaccessible) at the time when they are in pain. The situation can some- times occur where a patient at- tends for routine dental treat- ment having experienced no symptoms to date whatsoever, but subsequently find them- selves in acute pain shortly after the treatment has been com- pleted. Certain procedures carry a particular risk of creating postoperative pain or sensi- tivity, and in these cases it is sensible to prepare patients for any adverse outcome by giving them both preoperative warn- ings and postoperative instructions. Pulp Proximity Commonly this situation arises when a deep filling is provided in close proximity to the pulp. This can often precipitate a transient acute pulpitis, which, if the patient has been warned about what to expect and how to manage the symptoms, is gener- ally overcome without too much difficulty. But if such a proce- dure is carried out just before a weekend or public holiday, or a special event in the patient’s life, and the patient has not been forewarned, they may well as- sume that something has gone wrong. The patient may subse- quently hold the dentist respon- sible for the pain they have suf- fered. Practical arrangements Emergency patients without ap- pointments can be difficult to accommodate within normal surgery hours unless time has previously been set aside for this purpose. Alternatively, time can sometimes be found for them, but only at the expense of time which had originally been reserved for other patients. Good practice management is an integral part of good risk management, and the effective The emergency patient Dental Protection looks at dealing with emergencies ‘ Certain procedures carry a particular risk of creating postoperative pain or sensitivity, and in these cases it is sensible to prepare patients for any adverse out- come’ Pulpotomy BiodentineTM Dentine caries BiodentineTM Perforation BiodentineTM Immature root BiodentineTM Pulp exposure BiodentineTM Resorptions BiodentineTM Apical surgery BiodentineTM For crown and root indications Helps the remineralisation of dentine Preserves pulp vitality and promotes pulp healing Replaces natural dentine with the same mechanical properties DENTINE CARE INNOVATION ... is the rst all-in-one, biocompatible and bioactive material to use wherever dentine is damaged BiodentineTM For more information contact your preferred dealer or contact Septodont Head O ce on 01622 695520 October 25-31, 201020 Education United Kingdom Edition