White Coat hypertension at the dentist..

[TnMtnViews80]

I'm in my early 40s and female. I get terrible white coat hypertension whenever I go to my dentist. Ironically, I have worked in the medical field before and have worn a white coat myself at times. I developed high blood pressure during the end of my pregnancy with my first child back in the early 2000s. I still have have high blood pressure now, but it is controlled with medication. I saw several cardiologists after developing high blood pressure. However, all of the cardiologists said my heart was fine, they just thought I had genetic high blood pressure. I haven't had a cardiology check up in a few years, but plan to make one in the near future. After my first child, since my blood pressure was elevated, I had to keep getting it checked regularly. This in turn seemed to cause me to get white coat syndrome, as I wanted my blood pressure to read good when they checked it. Later when I was pregnant with my second child, I was taking blood pressure medication and had to have my blood pressure checked regularly during prenatal visits. Fortunately, I didn't seem to have the white coat syndrome during the second pregnancy and it was always good at prenatal visits. But after my second child was born, I seemed develop the white coat syndrome again.

My blood pressure goes up whenever I go for yearly visits at my family doctor or the dentist. The white coat syndrome seems worse at my dentist office. The dentist office I go to is over an hour away, as it's the nicest dental office close to where I live. The staff and dentists are nice as well. However, they use those wrist cuff blood pressure machines that don't seem to read well on me. The dentist put in my chart to take my blood pressure manually. A lot the dental assistants don't seem to know how to take a manual blood pressure well, and this tends to stress me a little more as they're taking it. My family doctor prescribed me Buspar for anxiety and 5 mg Lexapro as well. These medications do seem to help some, but my blood pressure was still really elevated at my last dental visit (6 month cleaning). The Lexapro also seems to cause weight gain and I'm considering having my family doctor switch the Lexapro. Anyone else have white coat syndrome at the dentist? If so, what have you done to help with it? I have a dental appointment soon, and I'm hoping my blood pressure is good at that visit!

 

[Karenw]

I have white coat hypertension (190/90) at the dentist but I've never had a dentist actually measure it in the surgery. I just have to go through the appointment and wait for it to subside afterwards, which takes a few hours.

 

[Enarete]

Hi TnMtnViews80 ,

if I got you right, you have high blood pressure when it's measured in a practice, but if you do it at home it would be normal - is that what the white coat syndrome is about? And it also sounds like you are having some anxiety at the dentist which you are taking medication for.
Now the part I am wondering about is the consequence of the high blood pressure - is there any treatment that the dentist is refusing giving you because they believe you are hypertonic so that you need to "proove" to have normal blood pressure? Or is there anything else that makes the white coat syndrome at the dentist being a problem? Or is this rather about wishing to have less anxiety at the dentist, which would be independent on what a blood pressure rating says. Also, was the medication you are taking prescribe to help you explicitely with the white coat syndrome or rather to help you with anxiety in generally?

 

[Tigerlily]

Bit late, but why is blood pressure measured? Dentists here never do that (unless possibly during sedation)

 

[letsconnect]

It seems to be fairly common (though not universal) in the US. Perhaps because if someone has undiagnosed high blood pressure, adding anxiety into the mix might send the blood pressure up to dangerously high levels? And with people more likely to sue successfully in the US, it probably makes sense for dentists to check just in case.

 

[Tigerlily]

It seems to be fairly common (though not universal) in the US. Perhaps because if someone has undiagnosed high blood pressure, adding anxiety into the mix might send the blood pressure up to dangerously high levels? And with people more likely to sue successfully in the US, it probably makes sense for dentists to check just in case.

Oh yeah that makes sense, I forget people are more likely to be sued. I'd assume we do it here if sedating as they do monitor obs, but normally no Dentist does it (thank god, it's agony for me lol)