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I currently live in Colorado and they require blood pressure readings. I have been turned down by 2 dentists because I get super high BP readings at the dentists and drs. offices. I've had pretty bad anxiety and white coat syndrome all my life. I have a root canal that is in desperate need of repair and I feel I can't do anything about it. I've been considering going out of state just for dental work. Do you know if any states or maybe your dentist that doesn't check BP. I know this seems silly and ridiculous but thought I would check.
I currently live in Colorado and they require blood pressure readings. I have been turned down by 2 dentists because I get super high BP readings at the dentists and drs. offices. I've had pretty bad anxiety and white coat syndrome all my life. I have a root canal that is in desperate need of repair and I feel I can't do anything about it. I've been considering going out of state just for dental work. Do you know if any states or maybe your dentist that doesn't check BP. I know this seems silly and ridiculous but thought I would check.
Thanks!
Your dentist doesn't want to be responsible if you have a heart attack in their office.
There are at least two things you can do about it:
1) Get your BP evaluated and treated as needed by a physician.
2) After that, find a dentist/endodontist who will IV sedate you.
Any dentist that doesn't check basic vitals such as BP and HR before injecting a chemical substance into your body to do an elective procedure is just asking for a lawsuit.
I currently live in Colorado and they require blood pressure readings. I have been turned down by 2 dentists because I get super high BP readings at the dentists and drs. offices. I've had pretty bad anxiety and white coat syndrome all my life. I have a root canal that is in desperate need of repair and I feel I can't do anything about it. I've been considering going out of state just for dental work. Do you know if any states or maybe your dentist that doesn't check BP. I know this seems silly and ridiculous but thought I would check.
Thanks!
CO requires readings, is it because of the elevation of the state? I've never had the readings done in all the dental offices and work I've had done but I don't live in CO....I live at sea level. The dental office has got to be the most stressful place for even a cleaning. How about a valium or other pharma calmer. Ask the dentist about that. Do you generally have high BP...
My dentist uses a wrist BP monitor and it always shows my BP as being very high. I finally brought my own BP monitor and asked him to use that and my BP was normal. The wrist monitors don't work right if you have very tiny wrists, which I do. If your blood pressure isn't normally high and you regularly see your doctor, a letter or phone call from your doctor to the dentist should be adequate for them to clear you for your dental work .
One endodontist I went to had his assistant take bp readings (with a wrist monitor). I was stressed just by having the appointment in the first place and added stress having difficulty finding their office since the directions I was given were off. I explained all of this to the dr and he said all was okay. (I am on bp meds and as a rule my reading is 115/70)
Another endo I went to, plus my regular dentist do not take the readings, thankfully.
Hard to imagine anyone sailing into those offices needing extensive work not having high readings.
As a side note: one specialist I see every six months takes the reading at each visit and it's always higher than normal. I explained this to my PCP and he told me that I don't need to worry about it.
Mrs. NBP and I have the same dentist. I have my blood pressure taken when I'm there, she does not. It may be because I'm on blood pressure meds and have had a couple cardiac events.
My dentist uses a wrist BP monitor and it always shows my BP as being very high. I finally brought my own BP monitor and asked him to use that and my BP was normal. The wrist monitors don't work right if you have very tiny wrists, which I do. If your blood pressure isn't normally high and you regularly see your doctor, a letter or phone call from your doctor to the dentist should be adequate for them to clear you for your dental work .
I have the "white coat" higher readings also, but now I track my BP at home with a nice little Omron BP device, and keep a spreadsheet with all the readings. My readings at home are totally normal. So, I take the spreadsheet to any dr or dentist appointment and show it to them, and offer to give them a copy for my chart. Usually that will solve the issue of high readings in the dentist office. I've not had any dentist turn me away due to a high reading when I've brought my spreadsheets.
Also, it's important to remember that BP equipment can vary between offices and also how the BP is taken by the assistant. Readings will be all over the map if not taken correctly.
Also, I think it's important that a dental office inform patients beforehand that if their BP readings are what they consider to be "high," they could be denied dental treatment, if that's their policy. I'm not sure if these are state laws or just policies that vary from practice to practice.
I do know that as I am researching retirement locations and calling dental offices for prices, I will now ask about their BP policy and if denial of services can happen based on BP readings.
BP readings also vary throughout the day, and more than one should be taken to get a more accurate assessment of BP. I've also had the situation where the automated cuffs read consistently higher than when a professional does a manual cuff reading. Wrist cuffs are not accurate from what I've read. And taking the BP over clothing is also not advised. However, in a dentist's office, taking off a shirt to get to a bare arm is not always possible, so that becomes another issue.
Personally, I think all dental patients need to be informed ahead of time that BP readings will be taken prior to any dental services and that services can be denied. This should not be a "surprise" at any dental visit.
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