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Managing Dental Emergencies after Hours Policy and Procedure

Subject: III. Clinical - E. Emergencies

Department: Oral and maxillofacial surgery

Origination Date: 11/1/2008

Effective Date: 12/1/2008 

Reviewed and/or Revised: 09/01/2017, 02/25/2022

Purpose:

Qualified dental personnel will be on call after hours to receive and triage emergency phone calls from active patients of record. The qualified dental personnel will be affiliated with the University of Maryland Dental School. This person will be a Dentist, resident, Patient Care Coordinator, or a Dental assistant with a minimum of 10 years of experience. The dental personnel providing this service must be approved by the Clinic Administration Committee. 

Patients of the School of Dentistry who experience a dental emergency “after-hours” or on the weekend may call (443) 827-5011 to speak with a School of Dentistry staff member.

Patients who have a dental emergency during regular business hours may contact the Patient Care Coordinator at their assigned clinic.

  • Urgent Care / Screening / Orals Surgery / PLUS / Special Care & Geriatrics may call 410-706-8127
  • Undergraduate Dental Clinics on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floor may call 410-706-8127
  • Advanced General Dentistry Clinic on 2nd floor may call 410-706-1250 or 410-706-4156
  • Orthodontics / Pediatric Dentistry on 3rd floor may call 410-706-0768
  • Endodontics / Prosthodontics / Periodontics on 4th floor may call 410-706-8111

Definitions:

Active patient of record: A patient that is in current treatment with an Undergraduate Dental Student or Post-Graduate Resident.

  • Patients who are inactivated or not assigned to a Dental Student are not considered active patients.

Patients who have been treated through the Urgent Care Clinic are not considered active patients unless they have an emergency associated with a recent area of treatment that was performed at the Dental School.

Policy:

This person will be a Dentist, Resident, Patient Care Coordinator, or a Dental Assistant with a minimum of 10 years of experience. The Clinical Affairs Board must approve the dental personnel providing this service.

This on call service is provided for active patients of record only. Patients are considered active patients of record if they are in current treatment with an Undergraduate Dental Student or Post Graduate Resident. Patients who are inactivated or not assigned to a Dental Student are not considered active patients. Patients who have been treated through the Dental School’s Urgent Care Clinic are not considered active patients unless they have an emergency associated with the recent area of treatment at the Dental School.

Procedure:

On call schedule:

Each clinical area has Dental faculty available as a contact for after hour emergencies. Any changes to covering faculty must be reported to the Director of Urgent Care (Dr. Idzik-Starr) and the person triaging the after hour emergencies.

On call responsibilities:

  1. Be accessible by pager (from 4pm until 9am on weekdays when the dental school clinics are open and 24 hours per day on the weekends and on weekdays when the dental school clinics are closed).
  2. Consult with and triage “emergency” calls for the University of Maryland Dental schools active patients of record.
  3. Affirm that the patient calling is actually an active patient of record by accessing axium on a laptop computer that is provided by the dental school. Axium may also be used to verify any recent treatment or prescriptions given to the patient. 
  4. Assess the situation and manage the treatment of afterhours “emergency” patients during non-clinic hours. 
  5. Contact the on call Oral Surgery or Pediatric dental resident for assistance with emergency conditions that may require the patient to be seen in the hospital during non-clinic hours. 
  6. Contact the dentist faculty member assigned to the clinic where the patient was treated
  7. Contact pharmacy for any medications prescribed by dental faculty on call. 
  8. Maintain a log of all of all phone inquiries which will include the following information: 
    1. Patient name and telephone number 
    2. Patient chart number
    3. Date and time of call. 
    4. Dental clinic in which comprehensive treatment is usually provided (name of dental student or resident patient is assigned too).
    5. Chief complaint and history of present condition. (Esthetics is not considered and Emergency situation.)
    6. Name of on call resident patient was referred to if patient is a post-graduate patient.
    7. Name of faculty that was contacted to handle the after hour emergency decisions and prescriptions if needed.
    8. Treatment advised (referral, medications, immediate clinic evaluation, follow-up appointments)
    9. Contact student or resident that is assigned to the patient and inform them of the situation. 
  9. Patients referred to a hospital by the on-call faculty are advised to come to the University of Maryland Hospital Emergency Room rather than another hospital if possible if they are experiencing:
    1. Trauma to teeth or the peri-oral area.
    2. Fever, swelling, toothache interfering with eating or sleeping
    3. Difficulty swallowing, difficulty breathing, or trismus. 
  10. When a patient is being referred to a hospital they shall be notified that any costs associated with their visit to the hospital will be the patient’s responsibility.