Blood Pressure Screening Within a Dental Practice

Abstract

Background/Significance: Hypertension is often asymptomatic until disease progression, decreasing the incentive for adult patients to be screened for elevated blood pressure. Increasing access to accurate screening and education is warranted, and implementing screening in healthcare settings outside of the primary care office presents an attractive opportunity. Purpose/Aim: This project aimed to increase the confidence and ability of dental staff in obtaining accurate blood pressure readings and identifying at-risk patients. Methods/Approach: A pre-intervention assessment was administered to eight staff members, assessing staff perceived confidence in blood pressure collection and current knowledge base. Formal education and training in safe blood pressure screening protocols was then implemented via a module and hands-on training. Five staff members completed the training, and the assessment was re-distributed to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Results/Outcomes: Staff perceived confidence in ability to report abnormal blood pressure readings to a dentist increased (p=0.004). Staff knowledge in understanding the best patient position (p=0.0002) and cuff size (p=0.0045) for obtaining accurate blood pressure measurements increased. Conclusions: Implementation of formal training in blood pressure screening protocols within a dental practice is feasible and improves staff confidence in their ability to identify patients at-risk for hypertension. These results support current evidence which suggests that the dental setting is an opportune location for chronic disease screening. Implications/Recommendations: This project can extend to other outpatient practices such as optometry, podiatry, etc. Additional chronic disease screenings such as finger-stick glucose readings may be explored.