Dentist Chair

I'm 83 years old and I have been scheduled to have two dental implants. On my first visit to the dentist my blood pressure went up to 200 and the dentist called an ambulance. I stayed in the hospital for several hours. On my second visit my blood pressure went up to 175/110 in 10 minutes. The procedure was cancelled. I didn't fee particularly stressed since I have had dental work done for over 70 years without problems. I have 100% heart block and I'm on my fourth pacemakers. I have three active wires and one that could not be extracted. Should I try an implant for a third time? Could the chair or instruments be causing my problem? Thank you.


6 Comments

Don't give up

by Gemita - 2022-03-28 08:06:16

Ariela,  I see you have autoimmune Lupus.  Is your blood pressure usually under good control and steady and are you on blood pressure meds?  Do you have any other symptoms other than high blood pressure when you are sitting in the dentist's chair?  If your blood pressure is usually good, and you have no other troublesome symptoms, perhaps you have nothing more than white coat syndrome?

If they have started dental implant work, it is important that you continue with any treatment.  Your dentist should be able to advise you what you need to do, or if necessary refer you back to your general doctor to get your blood pressure under firm control first.  Your doctor perhaps might prescribe an additional med to help you to overcome any underlying anxiety if present.  Perhaps it is the thought of the cost of it all that is pushing up your blood pressure? 

If you look under “Q” top right and search under dentist you will find some helpful posts from members about dental procedures, dental equipment, anaesthetics, interference from dental devices, magnets in dental chairs and so on. Alternatively type into your main browser:  Pacemaker Club dentist and this will also give you more to read.  I also attach a link below in case it helps.

Our blood pressure naturally fluctuates.  Remind your dentist of this, especially if your blood pressure is usually good.  You may not be aware of any stress or affects from any dental treatment, but it could still occur.  I usually get palpitations from dental anaesthesia which can cause tachycardia, leading to sudden blood pressure changes.

Try to go ahead with the implant procedure if that is what you want.  Your doctors should be able to find a solution.  When my dentist is uncertain of the way forward, he usually refers me to a dental hospital for an opinion where you would be closely monitored.  Hope otherwise you are doing well and are going for regular pacing checks

https://www.ada.org/resources/research/science-and-research-institute/oral-health-topics/cardiac-implanted-devices-and-electronic-dental-instruments

Blood pressure spike on dentist's chair

by TAC - 2022-03-28 11:45:39

In the U.S. we say: "You got two strikes", in reference to baseball. The third strike means that you're out. Medicine and life in general is not mathematically perfect. It's imposible to predict with exactitude how the body will respond to a particular stressor. You have gotten two warnings signals already. It's entirely up to you if those implants deserve that you should keep on trying. Hypertension spikes are not only caused by the cardiovascular system. There is also a nervous system involved, particularly the autonomic nervous system. Every person is different and you seem to be a hyper-reactive person. The way your body handles stress might be unusual, but any high blood pressure spike brings the risk of a cerebro-vascular accident (stroke). 

Try breathing exercise

by Gotrhythm - 2022-03-28 12:31:01

Although I don't have high blood pressure ususally, I'm 79 and as the years have piled up, my bp has become far less stable, and more likely to rise in slightly stressful situations. A dentist's chair waiting for implants would do it for me.

I have learned to bring my bp down with a 5-minute breathing exercise. It's actually easy to learn and to do.

These days I try very hard to get to appointments early so that I will have time to do my breathing before I'm faced with a bp cuff.

Here's an article about it. You will have to copy and paste the link.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210630135033.htm

Have you monitored your blood pressure for a week?

by Gemita - 2022-03-28 12:57:47

What I would do is to check your blood pressure three times a day for a week to see whether it is increasing.  If it is, you will have your answer.  If not, then you will still have your answer and you can then try to do something about it

Hypertension

by AgentX86 - 2022-03-28 14:41:35

It wouldn't be unusual for me to push an abnormally high BP when under stress.  My "normal" is all over the place anyway so add dental surgery to it (it's really the only pain that bothers me much), I wouldn't be shocked at a 175. I often show a 150 in the doctor's office, particularly one I haven't seen before.

High Blood Pressure

by Flo - 2022-03-28 17:55:08

For the past 2 1/2 years I’ve had high blood pressure when visiting a doctor or dentist so I’m thinking “white coat syndrome” as my blood pressure is good otherwise when not seeing a doctor.  I took my blood pressure monitor in with me on my last visit to show him my history, unfortunately my monitor came in lower than his when we both took my BP so he wasn’t totally convinced.  Also, I ask that we take the reading on the right arm due to lymph node removal and radiation on the left side and he doesn’t think we get an accurate reading that way.  I’m practicing the deep breathing exercises so we’ll see…

Best wishes to you!

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