Why You Need to Conduct Mock Emergency Drills & How to do Them Correctly
- Stephen W. Harden
- Jun 23
- 6 min read
10 dentists have been disciplined by state dental boards since February 2025.
Six of the 10 were disciplined because of poorly handled patient emergencies.
Two of the emergencies resulted in patient deaths.
One of the dentists said this…
“After much soul-searching, I have made the difficult decision to retire from dentistry, effective immediately. The events of the past few months, following the tragic passing of one of our patients, have weighed heavily on me both mentally and emotionally.”
Don’t let this be you.
Conduct Mock Drills
Why You Regularly Need to Conduct Mock Drills
1. Emergencies in dental offices are more common than you think. It WILL happen to you.
A national survey of dentists found that over 50% had experienced a medical emergency in their practice, with vasovagal syncope, angina, seizures, and anaphylaxis being among the most common emergencies reported (Girdler & Smith, 1999).
A more recent review noted that dental office emergencies occur in approximately 7.5 out of every 1,000 patients, and the vast majority require rapid, coordinated response to avoid adverse outcomes (Chapman, 2016).
One-third of U.S. dental practices reported an emergency within the past 12 months, highlighting that such events are far from rare (American Dental Association, Chicago, IL, August 2018).
The American Dental Association estimates that a dental office will experience a medical emergency every 2 to 4 years, based on national surveys and ADA data collection
2. Dental Risk Managers worry about dental patient emergencies.
One of the largest dental Risk Management companies covered patient emergencies in its latest meeting. They said, "Medical emergencies that can develop without warning include the following:
Syncope.
Altered consciousness.
Cardiovascular events.
Allergies.
Respiratory issues.
Seizures.
Diabetes-related symptoms.
Their conclusion?
“Preparedness is essential in ensuring patient safety and preventing catastrophic outcomes." And, "Conducting mock emergency drills is the STANDARD OF CARE.”
3. Mock drills improve real-world performance and reduces errors.
Studies in healthcare and aviation show that simulation training significantly improves team performance, decision-making, and patient outcomes during emergencies (Weinger & Gaba, 2014).
In dentistry, mock drills have been shown to reduce response time, improve the use of emergency equipment, and increase staff confidence (Bishop et al., 2018).
A 2020 paper in the Journal of Dental Education concluded that simulated emergency training led to statistically significant increases in dental staff’s ability to recognize and manage emergencies, including airway compromise and anaphylaxis (Al-Shamiri et al., 2020).
Research shows that conducting mock drills are the gold standard for competence among dental professionals in managing medical emergencies (Solanki et al., 2021)
3. Dentists have a legal and ethical obligation to be prepared.
Most State Boards of Dental Examiners requires licensed dental professionals to maintain basic emergency preparedness, including CPR certification and knowledge of emergency protocols.
OSHA and other regulatory bodies mandate that workplaces (including dental offices) have emergency response plans and staff trained in executing them.
Inadequate response to an emergency can lead to malpractice lawsuits, loss of licensure, and civil liability, especially if harm was preventable through basic team readiness.
4. Conducting Mock Drills is the only way to identify gaps in readiness before it's too late.
Just having an AED or emergency drugs on a shelf isn’t enough. Studies show that over 30% of dental staff fail to locate or properly use emergency equipment under stress if they haven’t practiced in a simulated environment (Pearn et al., 2019).
In debriefings after real-life dental office emergencies, communication breakdowns, confusion about roles, and lack of familiarity with protocols were the most common causes of delay and error (Greenwood et al., 2021).
In a study of general dentists, 20.5% reported that when they experienced an emergency situation with their patients, they were unable to diagnose what was happening to their patients (Marks, et al., 2017).
Research in The Journal of Evidence Based Dental Practice reveals 86% of dentists are not competent nor prepared to handle a simple emergency like Syncope (Hutse, et al., 2021)
In a study of general dentists, 95.7% expressed a need for further training to manage medical emergencies (Atherton, et al., 1999).
You will NOT rise to the occasion when a patient emergency happens to you. You will SINK to the level of your training.
You are either PREPARED or UNPREPARED for a medical emergency. There is no middle ground. Be prepared by conducting mock drills.
What Is a Mock Medical Emergency Drill in a Dental Office?
A mock medical emergency drill is a structured, simulated exercise in which a dental team rehearses its response to a life-threatening medical event—such as anaphylaxis, syncope, cardiac arrest, or airway obstruction—using realistic scenarios that might occur during patient care. These drills are designed to test and improve the team’s ability to recognize, respond to, and manage a medical emergency quickly and effectively, in real time, using actual emergency equipment and medications available in the office.
A well-conducted Mock Drill typically includes:
A realistic medical scenario (e.g., a patient faints or seizes in the chair)
Team roles and responsibilities clearly assigned and rehearsed
Use of checklists and emergency protocols
Hands-on practice with emergency equipment (e.g., AED, oxygen, EpiPen)
A structured debrief to identify what went well and what needs improvement
How to Correctly Conduct a Mock Drill
Choose the emergency for which you want to prepare. For an example, you might choose “Anaphylaxis.”
Set aside a day and time to conduct the Mock Drill with your dental team.
Notify your team of the upcoming drill and ensure they have prepared for the drill by providing everyone on the team a copy of the Anaphylaxis Quick Reference Checklist and ask them to watch the online Anaphylaxis mock drill video prior to the Mock Drill. (Note: You’ll need to buy this video for $5.)
On the day of the Mock Drill, you need the following documents:
Emergency Response Plan
Basic Management of Emergencies Checklist.
Anaphylaxis Quick Reference Checklist.
Post-Training Checklist.
(You can get all these documents here.)
Together with your team, review the Emergency Response Plan, Basic Management of Emergencies Checklist and the Anaphylaxis QRC.
Once the reviews are complete, assign a team member to simulate the role of the patient.
Assign a team member to act in the role of the Emergency Drill Coordinator. This person will, when the drill begins, call out a few of the Signs and Symptoms (located on the Quick Reference Checklist for the drill being conducted) experienced by the simulated patient. For example, if the team were conducting the Mock Drill for Anaphylaxis, the Coordinator might call out, “The patient has complained of swelling of the tongue and throat. She is wheezing, has labored breathing, and cyanosis.”
The call out of the Signs and Symptoms will serve as the “trigger event” to initiate the checklist items.
Announce the commencement of the drill and begin the simulation by having the Drill Coordinator call out the signs and/or symptoms.
The Reactor (dentist) should then verbally call for the Basic Management of Emergencies Checklist. (Example, “Let’s run the Emergency Checklist.”)
The team member assigned as the Responder will normally “run the checklist” and as needed will verbally call out each step in the checklist. (If you have insufficient number of team members, one person can serve as both the Drill Coordinator and the Responder.)
Simulate, as completely as is possible, each step in the treatment algorithm. Perfect practice makes perfect. For example, if the checklist requires a call to 911, the person responsible for the call should verbally simulate making the call by saying what he/she would actually say during a real call to 911. If the checklist calls for the administration of a drug, that drug should be located in the drug kit, and brought to the location of the simulation. All appropriate crosschecks (e.g., labels, names, amounts, etc.) should be accomplished. If the checklist calls for the opening of an airway, the equipment required for this should be located and brought to the location of the drill.
All actions that cannot be simulated should be mentally visualized and verbalized to the team. Describe, out loud, exactly what you would do and how you would do it. If you can’t “say it” you can’t “do it.”
Your performance in an actual emergency will never exceed the level of performance in your emergency drills. Mistakes made in drills will be made in a real emergency.
When the drill is complete, conduct a debriefing of the performance observed. Emphasize what must be done differently next time to improve performance.
Document the training session. Complete and sign a Post-Training Checklist.
In the end, the difference between a tragedy and a life saved often comes down to one thing: preparation.
Mock medical emergency drills are not just an optional extra—they are a critical component of patient safety, legal protection, and professional integrity.
When a real emergency strikes, there’s no time to hesitate, no margin for error, and no second chances. You must know what to do, where the equipment is, and how to work as a team—instinctively and immediately.
That level of readiness only comes through practice.
Start conducting regular mock drills now—because your license, your livelihood, and your patient’s life may one day depend on it.
Commentaires