“You can’t blame gravity for falling in love” Albert Einstein.

Our office routinely takes our patient’s blood pressure at their hygiene appointments and when we are performing any oral surgery. It is important for us to know that the patient’s blood pressure is within normal limits for their age. Blood pressure is measured in mmHg (pronounced millimeters of mercury) in which the systolic is the numerator and the diastolic is the denominator. The average blood pressure for an adult is 120/80 mmHg.
The general pattern is that blood pressure rises with age, so variations tend to be higher for older adults.

Our reason for taking patient’s blood pressure before a surgical procedure is that our anesthetics contain epinephrine a vasoconstrictor that can raise a patient’s blood pressure. It is important for a clinician to ascertain the patient’s baseline blood pressure prior to administering any anesthetic for systemic health and safety reasons.

Should you have any questions regarding your blood pressure, please ask Dr. Dagostino.

Sincerely,
Michael W. Dagostino, DDS.