Hypertension is the disease that causes high blood pressure in the arteries. It is a widespread phenomenon, let’s see what is the impact on dental therapies.
The dental patient with hypertension
Hypertension is a risk factor for patients undergoing dental care. Not all patients are aware of their disorder, while others, although aware, fail to share their clinical condition with the dentist.
In both cases, not highlighting hypertension problems before starting a dental therapy could lead to complications.
In our dental center in Milan, the first interview with the dentist is one of the fundamental phases of dental therapy. Our highly specialized staff is fully available to the patient and the first meeting is totally focused on the doctor / patient interview.
Hypertension is an important risk factor for common dental therapies and also for theimplantology, for this reason, even if the patient is not aware of a possible disorder in this sense, if the dentist suspects the presence of high pressure in the arteries, he will monitor the situation and keep it under control, also thanks to the help from other specialized doctors, before any intervention.
The symptoms of hypertension and the consequences on the oral cavity
Hypertension sometimes occurs without particularly obvious symptoms, there may be widespread malaise or having:
- headache;
- visual impairment;
- nausea.
The therapies used to bring the pressure of the arteries back to normal levels can have consequences on the oral cavity, in particular it can occur:
- dry mouth;
- inflammation of the gums;
- variation of salivary ph.
In other cases, anticoagulant drugs are administered, therefore tooth extraction could also lead to complications.
Therefore, the dentist, planning the therapy of a patient suffering from hypertension, will have to implement a series of precautions.
In the case of surgical procedures such as the insertion of dental implants, alternatives to normal anesthesia will be evaluated or, in the case of taking anticoagulant drugs, the possibility of interrupting the therapy for a few days and proceeding with dental surgery will be evaluated.
Hypertension is therefore not a condition that prevents dental treatments, but for the dentist it is essential to be aware of the patient’s blood pressure situation, to be able to proceed in total safety and not put the patient’s health in further danger.
Dedicating to patients all the time necessary to detail their personal clinical history, is one of the main characteristics of excellence in the dental field.
