Visiting the dentist is an important part of maintaining your overall health and wellbeing. During your routine checkup and cleaning, your dentist may take your blood pressure to ensure that you are healthy enough to endure treatment. This is done to create a baseline to monitor any issues and to alert the body if something is wrong. Hypertension can be an indication of rising anxiety levels, so it's important for your dentist to be aware of this.
If you are feeling uncomfortable or anxious, it can cause medical emergencies in people with high blood pressure. Establishing a baseline as soon as you sit in the chair is a safeguard for your health. Your dentist can also use your blood pressure reading to determine what type of anesthetic to use. Refusing to have your blood pressure taken could put your own health at risk, so it's important to take your oral health seriously. Symptoms of hypertension can be subtle and often go unnoticed, so a blood pressure check is usually the first sign of a problem. Dental anxiety and fear of the dentist can cause discomfort and raise blood pressure levels.
This lets dentists and hygienists know that you are healthy enough to proceed with treatment. Taking your blood pressure during an appointment also helps control anxiety levels and can alert the dentist if you need sedation. Screening for hypertension during routine preventive dental appointments is important because high blood pressure is often indicative of other serious medical conditions such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease. It's also important for dentists to take a baseline reading before administering anesthetic with epinephrine, as this could lead to medical emergencies in cardiac patients. By taking your blood pressure at every routine visit, dentists create a benchmark for managing possible hypertension as the years go by. This helps them identify any undiagnosed health complications and adjust their treatment plan accordingly.
Ultimately, taking your blood pressure during a dental appointment is an important step in maintaining your overall health and wellbeing.