Introduction:

Having a quality instrument that contributes to unifying criteria and raising the degree of preparation of personnel in the care of medical emergencies during dental practice is a necessity for professors of this specialty.

Objective:

To assess the care protocols for medical urgencies and emergencies during dental practice.

Methods:

A descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out, between May and June 2019, combined with qualitative approaches within the framework of medical care protocolization. An internet search was carried out for care protocols in medical urgencies and emergencies during dental practice, in Spanish, English and Portuguese; and, at the national level, by email and telephone. The assessment instrument of Morales-Navarro was used and an assessment group was created. We worked with whole numbers, indexes and means.

Results:

The protocol that achieved the highest rating was that of Andrés Bello University, of Chile, with 860 points (76.4%) of the total and with an ID under 0.66; while the lowest score was that of the National University of Colombia, with 528 points (46.9%), in relation to the minimum achievable score, of 225. The latter also presented the highest ID, of 0.2.

Conclusions:

The protocols analyzed presented uneven and predominantly low quality regarding their elaboration. No evidence was found that there was an instrument of this type, with a design based on the characteristics of dental services in the country and that could contribute to raising the level of preparation of personnel and the quality of care.

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