Curious minds

Plot twist: #1 is the OP's boyfriend

Or OP's dentist...

Or the blood pressure machine

why not all three?

Why did this get voted down out of all the first comments ive seen this is the most original

Well dentists are doctors; they go to medical school just like any other doctor. They just happen to specialize. Since blood pressure can have an impact on a person's oral health, it makes sense that a dentist would take a patient's blood pressure.

Where I come from dentists do not go to medical school and specialize. They go to school for dentistry and only learn what pertains to that. And are not MDs with a specialty in dentistry.

Perhaps that's true in some places, but in the country where I live and a number of others, dentistry is a distinct profession (with its own doctorate degrees), not a specialty trained in by graduates of medical school. There are some individuals who opt to attend both dental and medical school, however. Unless OP was having a procedure that required sedation, or suffered some kind of complication, I don't believe blood pressure monitoring is routine in dental offices.

here dentists dont finish the same college as the "real doctors" but the title is DOCTOR of dental medicine, and they do have almost all the same classes as they do in med school (such as gynecology, ofralmology, etc) also, if the patient has high blood pressure (or very low) he could have some serious problems while getting the anesthesia. it is every dentists obligation to messure blood pressure, since he could get suid for malpractice if he didnt do so, but the fact is many dentists skip this step. thats why you are all so surprised.

The thing with what you said is that dentists are required to measure blood pressure when procedures are being done that requires anesthesia. out of all of the times i have gone to the dentist, that was only once for me. the majority of people are going for simple cleanings or advice about a problem they have.

No, the majority of people DON'T go to dentists for cleanings or consultations. They go for root canals, fillings, bone grafts, implant placements, orthodontic treatments, veneers, bleaching, crowns, bridges, extractions, whitening, impressions, x-rays... (Hygienists, not dentists, do the cleanings and bleaching kits in almost all dental practices nowadays. And no dentist would live off consultations!) I don't know why #51 (from Croatia...) is getting thumbed down. This is the case for many professional schools in Europe. Poland has medical academies attended by both medical and dental students (also pharmacology students), and the medical and dental share classes for the first ~3 (out of 5) years of study.

whitening, x-rays, fillings, crowns, and extractions are still procedures you go to the dentist for during a consultation, and do not require anesthesia, just a simple numbing agent and can be performed right there on the spot. for numbing agents, you do not require their blood pressure because you are not putting them under (which is what anesthesia is for). and thats like saying a PCP cant survive off of well child/person visits and sick consultations, that they need the heavy duty procedures to actually make a living, which is not true. preventative care is bigger than surgeries in a normal dentist/physician office, which is what requires anesthesia.

actually, you do need anesthesia for some of those procedures (you can choose not to but it hurts like hell). not every anesthesia puts you down, those numbing agents (mostly lidocane) are also anesthetics. the thing is in dentistry local anesthesia is used in most cases, but it is still anesthesia and it is dangerous for patiens with high blood pressure.

If you have oral surgery and the dentist doesn't take your blood pressure, consider a new dentist.

How do you know that it has never happened to absolutely anyone you know? There is no way you know that.

Wow, such informative and well thought comments from all of the above, something i seldom see on here.

#75: No, you're wrong. Any reputable dentist will have ANY and ALL patients on antibiotics (because everyone has oral bacteria) for at least several days before an extraction to minimize the risk of endocarditis. Whitening procedures themselves are done instead by hygienists -- or at home with a kit you get from the dentist! But the bleaching tray requires time to make, and several appointments (first taking impressions, then getting a model from the lab, then building your model on top of that to make the kit, then fitting the tray). Perhaps fillings might be done on the same day as a consultation. But your original point was that most people go to dentists for "consultations" and not procedures that require anesthesia. Guess what... EVERYONE has extractions under local anesthesia (or general anesthesia), and almost everyone has restorations done under anesthesia too. As for crowns? Really? If a tooth needs a crown, it needs a root canal beforehand (which also requires anesthetic). And NO dentist keeps crowns on hand except as models for display. Each crown is SPECIFICALLY, INDIVIDUALLY made for each patient by a lab. That takes time. Patients choose the exact shade they want their crown to be, and not everyone has teeth that are the same size, either. The root canal, preparation, and fitting would take up two to three different appointments. None of them "consultations." And from my personal experiences in five different dental offices (as a volunteer, an employee, and a shadowing student), I can tell you that consultations DO NOT make up the majority of visits. It's not the same thing, at all. Most family doctors or pediatricians do not perform ANY medical procedures in their office. Have pneumonia? Here's a referral to a hospital for your x-ray. Need blood work done? Here's a prescription for that, take it to Quest Diagnostics! Chicken pox? Here's your script. But dentists? They rely almost entirely on dental procedures. An implant fetches $3000 a tooth. A consultation? $100.

I've gotten my blood pressure checked at the dentist for the last 5 years....They need to know if you're healthy enough for an exam...

#112. You are awarded with the longest FML comment I have ever seen. I tried to read it, but it took about 66 years and now I have Alzheimer's and completely forgot what I was doing. So I just wrote this comment instead.

When in an online debate it is advisable not to start with "No, you're wrong!" Also, where the hell do you come from where people believe dentists should always, always put patients on antibiotics for "at least a week" before sugary? That place is negating the efforts of the rest of the world to slow the evolution of super bacteria, for starters. Second, after a round or two of antibiotics your body becomes immune to them. So if you ever are in dire straights and need antibiotics for, I don't know, a real infection, there will be less kinds that can actually help you. Get a new damn dentist.

I'm currently in my second year of dental school and we have to take blood pressures for every patient. It affects how much numbing medicine/what kind you give them. And to #121 you're wrong. It is not recommended to give antibiotics to every patient before OR after surgery or procedures. Only in a few select cases. Also, a crown doesn't necessarily need a "root canal" aka endodontic therapy. Maybe you should reconsider your screen name and do your research before spouting off information you have no idea about. Ps- these were only a couple of things wrong with your post. You're pretty much incorrect with the entire thing.

Perhaps OP was going to the dentist for a procedure, or she needed sedation dentistry because of a phobia. They'd do blood pressure for that, because anytime sedation is used there's a possibility of your blood pressure bottoming out and your heart stopping or respiratory arrest. Also, anxiety can cause high blood pressure, so if OP was at all anxious (which could require sedation dentistry) it could raise blood pressure. It's called "white coat syndrome," when you get anxious and only have high blood pressure when you're at the doctor. My psychiatrist has started taking blood pressure, and I thought it odd at first.

You need to check your facts. The only time I've ever had to take antibiotics in regards to going to the dentist was when I had an abscessed tooth. The only people who need to take antibiotics before going to the dentist are people who have heart conditions (the ADA removed a bunch of conditions in the past couple of years) and people who have total joint replacements. Also, you can't lump all doctors together, because doctors have lots of sub-subspecialties. I've gone to lots of doctors and had in-office procedures done, provided they had the proper equipment. I've had minor in-office surgeries, and my mom - who is a doctor - has performed minor in-office surgeries.

Mine always takes my blood pressure

Therefor, it should never happen to anyone ever anywhere, because you and the people you know have experienced everything that has ever happened. Wow, you must know a lot!

that is pretty impressive.. a dentist truly going that extra mile. maybe he wanted to be a doctor but didn't want to go through all the extra school.

You go through the same length of schooling. Maybe he wasn't able to get in to med school and became a dentist.

If you look at the statistics, dental school is harder to get into than medical school ;-) Dentists also have more difficult training for anatomy and pharmacy oddly enough

Perhaps all Dentists worldwide were all sent an email stating that they must all give blood pressure tests to all patients recently. Happened to me too...

My dentist does it for every check up.

This is news to me. In a world where dentists are becoming increasingly thorough and doctors increasing negligent...

When I was put under to have my wisdom teeth out, they took my blood pressure. But that's the only time I've ever had my BP done at the dentist. I'm as mystified as the boyfriend on this one.

They need to know whether your going to bleed out while in their chair...They're doing things to your gums, whether a cleaning or something more invasive, and that's going to cause bleeding. If your blood pressure is too high or too low this can cause severe issues with bleeding and can send you to the hospital if they don't treat it.

EDIT (apparently I ran out of time): That is an uncommon occurrence, I wasn't aware that dentists were technically aloud to do stuff like that. But since it's something as minor as a blood pressure reading it isn't really a big deal.

Taking blood pressure isn't exactly an intricate medical procedure. I'm no doctor and I learned how to do it. Hell there's a machine at Walmart that knows how to do it haha

I guess I could've worded it a little better but it's too late now.

@seth. So what exactly was the point you were trying to make?

84, I'm not trying to make a point. I'm just wondering, like most people, why the dentist took her blood pressure.

Asshole

ive heard some knock out meds affect people with high blood pressure. they took my brothers blood pressure when he got teetth pulled

Novocaine uses adrenaline (well, epinephrine, same thing, different name) to be more effective. After a few shots of it, it DOES spike heart rate and blood pressure. That's why they use non-epinephrine novocaine and other numbing agents during pregnancy and won't do it during first trimester. In my opinion, it's quick check to make sure a patient's heart pressure isn't already high, which would indicate a different anesthetic should be used. Better to take 5000 patients' blood pressure than have one patient with a stroke! I have had high blood pressure before, and let the dentist know before any procedure for the last few years. As a result, they do take my blood pressure before any numbing. Now that I'm pregnant, even though I got my blood pressure down, they still checked it first before numbing me for a crown! I'd say it's unusual for most dentists, but with the numbing agents in use and their effect on heart rate and blood pressure it's a good idea.

Geez, 18. Commas are meant to make your sentences easier to read, not harder.

Because dental is part of medical field and high blood pressure is a medical concern. I have never not had a dentist or a hygienist take my blood pressure. They do it for safety reasons like if they have to remove teeth, numb, and put you to sleep for various reasons. If your dentist doesn't take your blood pressure I would be more concerned.

#18 omg im sorry to hear that but i am happy you are ok :)