Table 1.

Study questionnaire administered to dental hygienists (translated from Italian).

Demographic data
Age (years):
Gender:
Italian region where you work: • Abruzzo • Basilicata • Calabria • Campania • Emilia- Romagna • Friuli-Venezia Giulia • Lazio • Liguria • Lombardia • Marche • Molise • Piemonte • Puglia • Sardegna • Sicilia • Toscana • Trentino-Alto Adige • Umbria • Valle d’Aosta • Veneto
How long have you been a dentist? What university education did you have? • Degree in Dentistry • Degree in Medicine with specialty in Dentistry (before 1985) • Degree in Dentistry with further dental specialty (oral surgery, orthodontics, pedodontics)
In which of the following dental facility do you work? More than one answer can be provided • Private practice • Public practice • Other (please specify) Which one or which of these anesthetic procedures do you use in your clinical practice? More than one answer can be provided • Local anesthesia • General anesthesia • Deep sedationOther (please specify)
Knowledge and training on the diagnosis and management of medical emergencies
In relation to the diagnosis and clinical management of medical emergencies, indicate your degree of satisfaction on a scale from 1 (absolutely dissatisfied) to 10 (perfectly satisfied) about the university training received Did you carry out practical cardio-pulmonary resuscitation exercises during your university training? Yes/No
Have you ever taken postgraduate updating courses on medical emergency management in the dental practice? Yes/No
Prevalence and management of medical emergencies in their dental practice
How many medical emergencies have you encountered in your professional practice?
Have you had any medical emergencies in your professional practice during the past two years? Yes/No
The emergencies you encountered occurred: (more than one answer can be provided) • In the waiting room before the procedure • During the procedure • At the end of the procedure • I haven't encountered any emergencies so far
Have you ever had to call 112 (Italian emergency phone number) seeking for emergency medical support? Yes/No If so, how many times? Have any deaths ever occurred in the dental setting in which you work? Yes/No If so, how many times? Have any of the following medical emergencies ever occurred in the dental setting in which you work? (please indicate the number of events) • Vasovagal syndrome • Allergic drug reaction • Hypertensive crisis • Asthmatic crisis • Seizure • Hypoglycemic crisis • Hyperglycemic crisis • Anaphylaxis • Angina pectoris • Myocardial infarction • TIA or stroke • Severe bleeding • Foreign body ingestion • Foreign body inhalation
Dentists' clinical preparedness for critical care
Please, indicate, on a scale from 1 (severe management difficulty) to 10 (full confidence), how much you feel able to manage the following types of medical emergencies in the professional environment in which you operate • Vasovagal syndrome • Allergic drug reaction • Hypertensive crisis • Asthmatic crisis • Seizure • Hypoglycemic crisis • Hyperglycemic crisis • Anaphylaxis • Angina pectoris • Myocardial infarction • TIA or stroke • Severe bleeding • Foreign body ingestion • Foreign body inhalation Would you consider it useful for an institutional register of medical emergencies occurred in the dental setting to be made available and continuously updated on the website of the commission for dentists' board, collecting the reports of medical emergencies in an anonymous and voluntary form? Give your rating on a scale from 1 (not at all useful) to 10 (extremely useful) Would you consider it appropriate to improve your professional preparation in the field of prevention, diagnosis and management of medical emergencies? Yes/No Would you consider it useful that the commission for dentists' board should promote theoretical-practical national courses for the management of medical emergencies in dental setting? Yes/No/I do not know
Would you consider it useful that the commission for dentists' board should prepare a poster for diagnosis and the management of medical emergencies in dental setting, to be displayed in the facility where you work? Yes/No/I do not know