Is screening in dental office an effective method of detecting undiagnosed hypertension?

Background: Hypertension is an important worldwide public health challenge because of its high frequency and risk of cardiovascular and renal disease.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension as well as inadequately controlled hypertension among general population who sought tooth extraction at Army College of Dental Sciences, Secunderabad.

Materials and Methods: Only 1200 patients in the age group of 20-60 years who sought tooth extraction were included in the study. Blood pressure (BP) was measured for three times in all patients. The readings were quantized into four categories which included normal, prehypertensive stage, and Stage 1 and Stage 2 of hypertension. The BP was assessed for the following variables - gender, habits of gutkha chewing, smoking and alcohol, regular exercise, age, and effect of local anesthesia.

Results: Nearly 24.4% of new cases of hypertension were diagnosed among all participants reported to the dental clinic. After giving local anesthesia, 16.71% increase in BP was observed in Stage 1 and 2.35% increase in Stage 2 hypertension.

Conclusion: This study reveals that dentists play an important role in the early diagnosis of hypertension of many dental patients who are unaware of being hypertensive. This role should be emphasized in our specialty as a standard of care to prevent life-threatening complications.