Should GDPs be checking blood pressure?

OBJECTIVE:To survey the attitudes, knowledge and practice of general dental practitioners (GDPs) with regard to hypertension in dental patients and to assess opinion with regard to the concept of screening. SETTING:General dental practice. SUBJECTS AND METHODS:GDPs via a postal survey. To achieve an acceptable level of accuracy, at least 196 responses were required. RESULTS:Out of 300 questionnaires, 207 were returned (69% response rate). Most practitioners (98%) had received training in the measurement of blood pressure. Only 4.8% measured blood pressure routinely and this figure rose to 9.2% in patients with a known history of hypertension. Only 27.1% felt that the involvement of dentists in screening for hypertension was a good idea but 85.3% thought that education of practitioners about hypertension would be valuable. CONCLUSION:Most GDPs thought that education of practitioners about hypertension was a good idea. They did not, however, want to be involved with screening of patients for hypertension.