Dentists could benefit from using a free mobile application developed by the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology, or ADSA.

The app, "ADSA Ten Minutes Saves A Life!", offers providers checklists and algorithms related to patient care crises, early detection of emergencies and appropriate interventions. It is funded by the ADSA Anesthesia Research Foundation and has no corporate sponsorship or affiliation.

Within the app, which is available for download on Apple’s App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android users, there are flow charts for evaluating emergency events including allergic reactions, choking, hypertension, chest pain, low blood sugar and more. Providers can catalog and track drug expiration dates and also input patient age and weight to personalize needed emergency drug dosages.

In November, iMedicalApps.com, a website edited by an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, included “ADSA Ten Minutes Saves A Life!” in its Best Medical Apps of the Week feature.

The app is the result of several years of work by academic and clinical volunteers, said Dr. Morton Rosenberg, professor emeritus of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and an anesthesiology professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine, a member of the working group.

 “This is about creating a culture of patient safety in dentistry,” he said. “It’s out there available for any provider.”

After downloading the app, users choose from one of three provider level options: dentist using only local anesthesia or nitrous oxide or minimal and moderate sedation, dentist providing moderate intravenous sedation or dentist providing deep sedation/general anesthesia and current in advanced cardiac life support and pediatric advanced life support.

The app is available now is a beta version, said Dr. Rosenberg, and will eventually include appendixes with videos on rescue actions and links to relevant sites.

To find the app, search for “ADSA Ten Minutes Saves A Life!” in Google Play or Apple’s App Store.

For more information, visit ADSAhome.org.