Use of emergency intravenous injection in dental practice

Medical emergencies can occur in dental practice and dental surgeons have to be able to handle them effectively. The intravenous route has long been advocated for dental surgeon in emergency. Since 2006, recommendations from the British Resuscitation Council tend to discourage this route of administration for dental practitioners in emergency. In France there is no consensus on this subject and most French dental schools still teach intravenous route in case of medical emergency. We reviewed international literature regarding medical emergencies in dental practice since 2006 and identified those dealing with intravenous access. Half of the publications suggest or encourage the use of intravenous access. Nevertheless, most of dental surgeons do not feel confident in realizing an urgent intravenous injection. Indeed, this technique requires an intensive phase of learning and regular practice to be performed in safety and effectively. Thus, this technique is difficult to realize in a context of stress and of under-training. Dental surgeons should be familiar with other methods of administration to manage medical emergencies encountered in dental practice such as intramuscular, inhalatal, sublingual, buccal and oral. It seems necessary to encourage an European consensus on this subject in order to improve the management of medical emergencies.