Why dentist check BP before doing a filling?

[Useruser]

Hi,
This question is regard to me and my friend.
I did a filling few weeks back and the dentist did check my Blood pressure before giving the injection.
My friend who has always little elevated BP readings. She won't go to dentist at all. I made her go to the dentist for a check-up and found out few cavities.
She had to go for filling. She has been monitoring BP at home and not in medication. She is worried that she had to bring BP reading to normal range before she go for cavity filling.
Is high BP readings are not good for cavity filling? Any inputs please.
Her readings are in the range of 125-133/82-92.

 

[kitkat]

Hi! I am not a dentist and I have heard different opinions on this so maybe a dentist can chime in with some clarity. I personally, have only had my BP checked at the dentist once and it was when I was going to be sedated. I believe some dentists screen BP/pulse just as a standard practice and possibly some states may even require it. There is speculation that the local anesthetic injection can raise BP and pulse as well as dental procedures in general so they may recommend delaying treatment if numbers are too high??? I’m pretty sure if they checked my BP right before a filling, my numbers would almost always be sky high!

 

[Useruser]

Hi! I am not a dentist and I have heard different opinions on this so maybe a dentist can chime in with some clarity. I personally, have only had my BP checked at the dentist once and it was when I was going to be sedated. I believe some dentists screen BP/pulse just as a standard practice and possibly some states may even require it. There is speculation that the local anesthetic injection can raise BP and pulse as well as dental procedures in general so they may recommend delaying treatment if numbers are too high??? I’m pretty sure if they checked my BP right before a filling, my numbers would almost always be sky high!

Thank you so much for your reply. Appreciate it.

I also had a high reading once I went in for the filling. They told me to relax for few mins and took again and it was kinda ok. It's better to postpone the procedure when we have high. Hope other dentists can give some clarity.

 

[Gordon]

Kit kat has pretty much covered it. If a patient has a known history of High Blood Pressure then it's only common sense to check it before administering drugs which will increase it such as local anaesthetic.

It's the second number (the diastolic) which is generally the one we work against, anything over 100 and I would not proceed with treatment without a medical opinion

 

[Useruser]

Kit kat has pretty much covered it. If a patient has a known history of High Blood Pressure then it's only common sense to check it before administering drugs which will increase it such as local anaesthetic.

It's the second number (the diastolic) which is generally the one we work against, anything over 100 and I would not proceed with treatment without a medical opinion

Thank you so much for your reply. Appreciate it.

It really makes sense. My friend has been watching her BP as per her GP advice. She used to have high diastolic number than the systolic. Her diastolic readings will always be in the range 82-95.

 

[Useruser]

Kit kat has pretty much covered it. If a patient has a known history of High Blood Pressure then it's only common sense to check it before administering drugs which will increase it such as local anaesthetic.

It's the second number (the diastolic) which is generally the one we work against, anything over 100 and I would not proceed with treatment without a medical opinion

Thank you so much for your reply @Gordon. Really appreciate it.

I went to the dentist office today and the dentist said we can redo the fillings. I actually went in for smoothing the edges. Filling redo was scheduled for next week.
The nurse checked my blood pressure with the wrist bp monitor. My readings were 143/93. I was so scared and nervous though.
I asked the nurse if the readings are ok. I also mentioned that I had common cold over the weekend and taken few medicines. She said that's perfectly fine and you can do filling even when you have cold.

About the reading, she said that the values are high but we only check the bottom number to be less than 100. Other values are ok. So, they go ahead and put the injection and did the filling.
Just giving these info here, as it will help someone else like me who is freaking out about dental appointments.

 

[Gordon]

143/93 is not too bad in a stressful situation, we call it "White Coat Syndrome"

 

[geos]

I asked my family doctor if I should worry about the high blood pressure I have when they take my blood pressure at the beginning of my medical appointments. He said he doesn't worry for me, my blood pressure always go down to normal levels once I'm less stressed out and called it "White Coat Syndrome". He said he sees it with many people.