May is National High Blood Pressure Awareness month, and your Livonia dentist Dr. James Stewart wants you to know how hypertension can affect your oral health and vice versa. Have you ever wondered why your blood pressure is checked at dental visits? Because hypertension displays very few symptoms in early stages, this condition is often only discovered when a health care provider takes a blood pressure reading. High blood pressure affects one in three Americans and can lead to heart attack, stroke, and organ damage if not caught and treated in time, so the American Dental Association recommends that all dentists check patients’ blood pressure at their initial visit and once a year thereafter to help with early detection of this deadly condition.
Symptoms of Hypertension
Often called the “silent killer,” high blood pressure can show no symptoms until significant damage has already occurred to the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, and eyes. If you experience a sudden headache, shortness of breath, blurry vision, nausea, or vomiting, you should call your physician or 911 immediately, as these symptoms may indicate a dangerous elevation in blood pressure. If hypertension is not controlled with medication, diet, and lifestyle changes, it can lead to vision loss, heart attack, or stroke.
High Blood Pressure Medications
Life-saving medications used to control your high blood pressure can cause oral health problems. Xerostomia, or chronic dry mouth, is a side effect of many antihypertensive medicines. Saliva helps balance the pH of the mouth, kill oral bacteria, and neutralize acids that damage tooth enamel. Without enough saliva, you can develop rampant tooth decay and gum disease. Additionally, calcium channel blockers used to control hypertension can cause gingival overgrowth, which is characterized by an enlargement and swelling of the gum tissue. Both xerostomia and gingival overgrowth require meticulous oral care, and you may need to see Dr. Stewart for checkups and cleanings more frequently than every six months to prevent serious problems from developing. (more…)
Vampires are becoming very popular in today’s culture through books, television shows, and movies. And while some fans are jealous of their immortality and super-human capabilities, no one seems particularly envious of a vampire’s pointy canines. Those fangs can be fixed, however, with tooth recontouring, one of the many cosmetic dental procedures offered by Dr. James Stewart.
