Medical Emergency Preparedness in Primary Dental Care Following Practical Training: An Urban–Rural Comparison

Background/Objectives: Medical emergencies in dental practice require adequate professional preparedness and access to appropriate resources. This study assessed changes in dentists’ self-perceived preparedness and reported availability of emergency medications and equipment one month after practical training, with an exploratory comparison between urban and rural institutions. Methods: This prospective, single-group pre–post study included 42 dentists from two Croatian primary healthcare institutions (18 urban and 24 rural). No control group was included. Participants completed the same questionnaire before and one month after a standardized medical emergency workshop. Paired changes were analysed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and between-group differences using the Mann–Whitney U test. Changes in individual resources were assessed using exact McNemar tests with Holm adjustment. Results: Self-perceived educational adequacy increased from a median of 2 [IQR 2–3] to 4 [IQR 3–4] (p < 0.001), with improvement reported by 33 participants (78.6%). The mean paired increase in self-perceived educational adequacy was 1.19 points (95% CI: 0.93–1.48). In an exploratory comparison, the increase was greater in the rural than in the urban institution (between-group difference in mean change: 1.11 points; 95% CI: 0.68–1.53; p < 0.001). Reported medication availability increased from a median of 3 [IQR 2–4] to 4 [IQR 3–4.75] (p < 0.001), whereas perceived adequacy of medication supply did not change significantly (p = 0.415). Neither perceived equipment adequacy nor the number of reported equipment items changed significantly. Conclusions: One month after training, dentists reported improved self-perceived educational adequacy and increased reported availability of emergency medications, without corresponding significant improvements in perceived medication adequacy or equipment preparedness. These findings highlight the distinction between perceived preparedness and reported resources, although the absence of a control group precludes causal conclusions.