Cornwall dentist saves patient’s life

Cornwall dentist saves patient’s life – Dental patient, David Oldham, fell ill just before Christmas as he waited to see a dentist at his local surgery. The sixty-six-year-old man collapsed in the waiting room and remembers very little about the incident. The receptionist, Jill Constance, sounded the alarm and alerted the attention of dentist, Brian Needham. They both rushed to the aid of their patient.

Luckily for Mr. Oldham, his dentist’s previous job was a paramedic. This training, coupled with his dentistry experience, allowed Mr. Needham to identify a cardiac arrest and save the patient’s life. The practice staff worked together to perform CPR, and used a defibrillator to keep the sixty-six-year-old alive. Paramedics arrived on the scene after four minutes of receiving the emergency call and took over from the dentist’s staff.

Shortly after paramedics arrived an air ambulance was on the scene to take Mr. Oldham to the local hospital. Because of the quick thinking of the dental staff, and the life-saving equipment that they had to hand, their patient lives to tell the tale of his ordeal. Practice manager, Andy Taylor, said that it is vital that surgeries have defibrillators on hand for such occasions as these.

Pearl Dental Clinic is open 7 days a week from 9am to 9pm. You can book an appointment by calling us on 0208 547 9997 or emailing us or booking an appointment online.