Membership information 1800 444 542
Dentolegal advice 1800 444 542

Emergency Advice

Get emergency advice now
  • Call 1800 444 542

Dental Protection believe in always giving you the best advice. To help us do this we may monitor and record our calls for training and quality purposes. Please remember to protect your patient’s privacy by not revealing their identity during the call or in email correspondence unless we specifically ask.

Our emergency advice helpline is not designed to deal with queries about payments, existing cases or membership categories. These enquiries should be made when the office is next open or by email using the details on the Contact page.

More about emergency advice

Occasionally an emergency will arise which needs support outside business hours and our on-call dentolegal consultants are happy to assist you in these circumstances, particularly if an urgent situation has arisen concerning the safety of patients or staff.

Some examples of emergency situations where out of hours support may be requested are: 

  • A serious untoward incident. This might be the death of a patient, or a serious medical event, such as a collapse associated with dental treatment. In such circumstances the police may become involved and members may be asked to provide a statement.
  • Unexpected visits from or contact with the police, other authorities with powers of entry or the media. 
Unexpected raids on the practice by the police or an arrest involving allegations of criminal activity or a problem directly or indirectly associated with professional misconduct and/or the practise of dentistry are rare - but we can provide emergency advice about how to react to such an event. Once further details of the case emerge, decisions can be made about the level of ongoing assistance (if any) we can provide. Please note that issues of personal conduct unrelated to the practise of dentistry would not normally fall within the scope of our assistance.

We appreciate that some discussions are more easily undertaken away from the practice and therefore out of clinic hours. However, without access to our office systems, out of hours calls about ongoing support will be of limited benefit.

Whilst we are committed to providing emergency advice out of hours, members are asked to discuss all non-emergency issues during office hours.

Confidentiality

Seeking advice during office hours avoids the potential problems of conversations with a consultant being overheard, as our consultants may be working outside of an office environment when they receive a call. Clearly discussing sensitive issues in a public space could compromise confidentiality, so sometimes it will be necessary for the consultant to return your call at a mutually convenient time.

© 2010-2024 The Medical Protection Society Limited

DPL Australia Pty Ltd (“DPLA”) is registered in Australia with ABN 24 092 695 933. DPLA is part of the Medical Protection Society Limited (“MPS”) group of companies. MPS is registered in England (No. 00036142) with its registered office at Level 19, The Shard, 32 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9SG. All the benefits of MPS membership are discretionary, as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.

“Dental Protection member” in Australia means a non-indemnity dental member of MPS. Dental Protection members may hold membership independently or in conjunction with membership of the Australian Dental Association (W.A. Branch) Inc. (“ADAWA”).

Dental Protection members who hold membership independently need to apply for, and where applicable maintain, an individual Dental Indemnity Policy underwritten by MDA National Insurance Pty Ltd (“MDA”), ABN 56 058 271 417, AFS

Licence No. 238073. DPLA is a Corporate Authorised Representative of MDA with CAR No. 326134. For such Dental Protection members, by agreement with MDA, DPLA provides point-of-contact member services, case management and colleague-to-colleague support.

Dental Protection members who are also ADAWA members need to apply for, and where applicable maintain, an individual Dental Indemnity Policy underwritten by MDA, which is available in accordance with the provisions of ADAWA membership.

None of ADAWA, DPLA and MPS are insurance companies. Dental Protection® is a registered trademark of MPS.

Before making a decision to buy or hold any products issued by MDANI, please consider your personal circumstances and the Important Information, Policy Wording and any supplementary documentation available by contacting DPLA on 1800 444 542 or via email.

For information on MPS and DPLA’s use of your personal data and your rights, please see our Privacy Notice.