[Respiratory emergencies in the pediatric dental clinic: prevention and treatment].

Emergency situations can occur in the Pediatric Dental Clinic. The purpose of this article is to focus on signs and symptoms of emergencies involving the airway, such as aspiration of foreign bodies, asthma attacks, obstruction of the airway as a consequences of physiological and pathological causes and sedation-induced apnea. Preventive and diagnostic tools, and protocols are presented, as well as a schematic flow chart of the management of airway obstruction due to foreign bodies. A new classification of risk factors that considers the parameters of sleep apnea risk, tonsil size, sedation level, patient's health status and dentist's qualification is also suggested.