Complete Medical Emergency Kit
for Dental Office Use
Ensure your practice is fully equipped with essential life-saving medications and medical supplies. Designed for seamless compliance with state board and OSHA standards.
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Essential Emergency Medications Every Dentist Should Have
Dentistry involves more than treating teeth. At times you are responsible for managing a medical emergency until help arrives, and having the right medications within reach can save a patient's life. The ADA Council on Scientific Affairs suggests that every dental office keep, at a minimum, injectable epinephrine 1:1,000, an injectable histamine-blocker, oxygen with positive-pressure capability, sublingual nitroglycerin, a bronchodilator inhaler, sugar, and aspirin. Here is what each one is for.
Epinephrine: The First Drug for Anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis can develop within minutes of exposure to a trigger such as latex or a medication. Intramuscular epinephrine 1:1,000 is the first and most important treatment; antihistamines and oxygen support it but do not replace it. Practices that treat children should also keep a pediatric dose, such as an epinephrine auto-injector junior.
Antihistamines for Allergic Reactions
A histamine-blocker such as diphenhydramine treats mild allergic reactions like hives and itching, and is given after epinephrine in anaphylaxis once breathing and circulation are supported. Many kits carry both an injectable and an oral form.
Nitroglycerin and Aspirin for Chest Pain
Sublingual nitroglycerin relieves angina in patients with known heart disease. Aspirin, chewed, is given when a heart attack is suspected and emergency services have been called. Check blood pressure before giving nitroglycerin and ask about recent erectile dysfunction medication, which makes it unsafe.
Bronchodilator, Glucose, and Ammonia Inhalants
A bronchodilator inhaler such as albuterol treats asthma attacks. Oral glucose treats low blood sugar in a conscious patient who can swallow. Ammonia inhalants help a patient recover from fainting, the most common emergency in dental offices. For the step-by-step response to each emergency, see our emergency preparedness and response guide.
The right medications, in date and in a known location, give your team what it needs to act in the first minutes of an emergency.
Emergency medications typically expire within 12 to 24 months, so assign one person to check the kit every month and replace anything close to its date. Your state dental board may require additional drugs or equipment; see our state-by-state emergency kit requirements guide. Our Standard and Plus kits include these core medications and are restocked every year before they expire.
Emergency kit guides
- Why Your Dental Office Emergency Kit Matters More Than You ThinkExplore emergency kit supplies, team preparation, and the role of emergency readiness in your dental practice.
- Dental Office Emergency Kit Requirements: OSHA, ADA, and All 50 StatesWhat OSHA actually requires, what the ADA recommends, and each state dental board's emergency drug and equipment rules, with sources.
- Dental Office Medical Emergency Preparedness and Response GuidePrepare your dental office for medical emergencies: the written plan, team roles, kit and equipment, drills, and step-by-step response protocols.
- Dental Office Emergency Kit Checklist: What to StockA medical emergency can start during any routine appointment, from a reaction to local anesthetic to chest pain brought on by dental anxiety. This checklist covers what to keep in your office emergency kit, how to organize it, and how to keep it ready. If you would rather not assemble one yourself, you can compare our pre-stocked Standard and Plus kits.
Standard Emergency Kit
Everything a dental office needs to respond to a medical emergency in adult patients, with the essential medications and supplies in one kit.
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Emergency Kit Plus
Everything in the Standard Kit plus a pediatric epinephrine pen, for dental practices that treat both adults and children.
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