Let's talk about the significance of why we take blood pressure at your dental visits.
One, we see you more often than your primary care physicians and it's important, and sometimes there's a subtle change. If I were to bring it to your attention, you're more likely to explore what's going on with your overall health. Sometimes [blood pressure] goes unnoticed during our day-to-day lives and stress. So, I want to make sure I bring it to your attention, whether it means changing your diet, exercising, or talking to your physician. That is the whole idea.
Things Change As We Age
We do go through the process of aging; Our diets change, our stress levels change. Different circumstances in life can really cause our body to go through stress. Whether the blood pressure is elevated because of a temporary metabolic issue or temporary stress related issue, it could also be kidneys. I think my goal is always to bring it to your attention to just say, “Hey, I noticed this today.” A lot of times I hear, “It's a white coat syndrome.” My physician said, “It's okay. My numbers are good.” Some of us have been on medication for a long period of time and have not really gone back to check, and if there was a positive change that you made with your health and exercise that medication may need to be titrated down a bit. It's important to check that very regularly with your physician.
Beyond Blood Pressure to Systemic Health
We're also doing prophylactic statins for everybody, for cholesterol, especially if there's a family history, and that's between you and your physician. However, when I see elevated numbers, my goal really is to bring it to your attention so that you can pinpoint what's causing that. Is it normal? Are you already taking medication, and your blood pressure is still elevated? Because those high numbers are causing stress to our vital organs, kidneys, eyes, liver, those littlest blood vessels that supply nutrition and oxygen to these organs are popping under high numbers, high pressure.
My goal is not to raise your blood pressure by taking the blood pressure during your dental visits, but to bring your attention to it because it's our body's first sign that something is off, and it's our job to take care of you and point you in the direction of taking care of your body.
- Dr. Kiran Rapal