The Screening of Hypertension in a Dental School: An insight into Dentist Role and Patients Drug Adherence. A Cross-Sectional Study

Objectives: We aim to screen the hypertension prevalence in a dental school in Egypt. Meanwhile, we aim to evaluate the role of dentist in early detection of hypertension and to investigate the patient’s adherence toward anti-hypertensive drugs. Methods: a cross-sectional study. The study was conducted at the Diagnostic Center, Faculty of Dentistry, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. This clinic carries out the overwhelming part of dental care in Egypt. All the patients aged 18 and older who admitted to the Diagnostic Center had their blood pressure measured before the dental examination. Blood pressure measurement was conducted by trained volunteer dental and medical students. Blood pressure diagnosis was based on the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) recommendations using an automatic blood pressure reading device (Omron M4®). Patients with elevated blood pressure were scheduled for a second confirmatory measurement. Hypertension prevalence in a dental educational hospital. Results: The overall hypertension prevalence was 17.1 % and the prevalence was 17.4 % in males and 16.9 % in females. 14.9 % of hypertensive patients were not known to be hypertensive and were newly discovered as hypertensive when blood pressure measurement was done. 40.2 % of hypertensive were noncompliant with their antihypertensive medications. Conclusions: Dental patient screening for hypertension has the potential to benefit public health outcomes, by identifying patients with hypertension, and allowing for earlier intervention.