This study was done to determine the nature of utilization of dental a
uxiliaries and medical emergencies in private dental surgeries in Keny
a. A self administering questionnaire with pre-paid postage was mailed
to 138 dentists. 27.5% responded. 81.6% used dental auxiliaries and t
he main reason was to improve efficiency in managing patients. 93.5% o
f the auxiliaries were on job trained secondary school graduates. 63.2
% of the respondents delegated duties which were mainly non-clinical.
26.3% did not delegate any duties. In a descending order, the reasons
for non delegation were:- that it would be risky to patients, not allo
wed by law, they did not find it necessary and that auxiliaries were n
ot held responsible if something went wrong. The main duties delegated
to the auxiliaries were cleaning of instruments and sterilization, mi
xing of restorative materials and preparing amalgam. Delegation was do
ne primarily based on auxiliaries capability to perform the procedure
and meet the set standards. 57.9% indicated that they rarely encounter
ed medical emergencies. Syncope was the commonest emergency encountere
d. 72.7% indicated that auxiliaries could not handle medical emergenci
es because they were not trained. It is concluded that most dentists d
id not delegate clinical duties to dental auxiliaries and medical emer
gencies were rare.