Management of the Hypertensive Patient in Dental Practice

More than 1 billion people worldwide have hypertension. Since the guidelines for classification and treatment of hypertension were updated in 2017 by American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association, it is now estimated that nearly half of the US adult population has hypertension. Hypertension may not show any sign or symptom apart from an elevated blood pressure reading until signs and symptoms of complications occur. Hence, dentists can play a unique role in identifying undiagnosed patients or those with uncontrolled blood pressure levels. This article is intended to provide dental clinicians essential information about hypertension and how the new guidelines affect the classification and treatment of the disease, and it discusses the management of patients with hypertension in the dental office.