First Aid Course in the Dental Practice – Family Dentist Schwyz

About the job

First Aid Course in the Dental Practice

Killing someone, or letting someone die is a difference!

Jan Ymeraga, Dentist

As macabre as it sounds, but true – that is why we practise emergencies!

We – the dental staff of Familienzahnarzt Schwyz AG – meet cheerfully on Saturday morning with coffee and croissants in the practice rooms at Mythencenterstrasse 19 to practise the emergency situation on site, albeit without a patient.

Because having the neon green glowing defibrillator clearly visible at reception alone is not enough. Also in first aid, practice makes perfect. The more confidently and efficiently one can react in an acute situation, the more valuable and vital it is for the affected patient, which we as dental personnel also stand for with our training. Even though we always hope never or rarely to experience an emergency in our practice, we repeatedly dedicate continuing education hours to this topic.

Lecturer Dr med Andras Juchli from JDMT Medical Service AG in Pfäffikon accompanied us with much knowledge and experience but also with charm and wit through this training morning, which ended after work with a fine shared lunch at Erlen in Ibach. Such moments also promote good TEAM building, which benefits every patient, especially in emergencies!

But back to the training. Whether my husband’s role in the practice round was a heart attack or rather a broken heart, we’ll leave that open. 😉

What was not left open were the following questions with their corresponding answers:

– The medical history documents of each patient already give us a lot of information about the patient’s health status. Possibly there are also accompanying persons on site who can provide direct information.

– There is always a duty of care, not only to the patient but also to the practice and the staff. Therefore, it is very important to make a clear decision in the moment whether to call an emergency service (support) or not. When in doubt, always choose to call!

Which emergency service do we call in an emergency?

144 → Ambulance service

1414 → Rega

117 → Police

118 → Fire brigade

112 → General emergency number

145 → Poisoning

143 → The offered hand (crisis hotline)

– If the wrong number is dialled at the moment, help will be provided over the phone. We "helpers" are not left alone either.

– The "Eichhorn" ambulance service will be on site within 2-3 minutes in an emergency, but at the latest within 10 minutes.

Provide systematic help in every emergency!

1. Situation, safety, support

2. First impression

3. Patient assessment

4. Realise, decide, organise

5. Medical measures (emergency kit, defibrillator, etc.)

– Various good emergency apps can also support initially

– Under stress, "tunnel vision" is always possible. Therefore, it is important to always get support from others. (Support)

– In emergency situations, one is often capable of peak performance that was previously unimaginable.

– Children are not small adults. A shorter breath tolerance must be considered.

– The previously learned "GABI" is still valid, even though today the emergency situation is handled according to a new guideline. This had to be adapted because GABI is not understood or applicable internationally, but only in the German language. 😉

But it is often the case that one acts correctly intuitively in the situation and draws on "old knowledge", even if unconsciously. This Saturday morning gave us all the confidence that this is also a viable path.

– Finally, something very specific to dentistry. Did you know why you should not put anything between the teeth of a patient having a seizure?

To avoid potential tooth damage! 😉

My very personal conclusion from this training morning was the realisation that our staff already brought a "well-filled rucksack" of knowledge from various previous trainings and at the same time is now up to date again.

Miriam Landolt-Kistler, certified practice manager SDC