Doctors always want to know as much as possible about your medical history before they prescribe any medicine or any treatment procedure. This is because your medical history offers insights as to the possible ailments that you could be susceptible to and also helps guide the doctor on what to prescribe and what not to prescribe. While you may not need to tell your dentist about colds and, there are some medical conditions that you must disclose to your dentist. This is particularly important in case you are about to have any dental surgery done. We have put together a list of some of these conditions.
Diabetes
Diabetes affects the way your body interacts with blood sugar. Patients with diabetes have a higher chance of developing various gum diseases because of the high sugar content in their blood and other fluids such as saliva. This makes it easy for bacteria to thrive and reproduce, leading to gum disease. Alerting your dentist about your diabetic condition will allow him or her to keep a close eye for gum disease and to offer various interventions early enough before it develops into a serious condition. People with diabetes are also at risk of slow healing wounds and this might affect any surgeries that the dentist might perform.
Hypertension
Hypertension refers to a condition where the patient has elevated blood pressure levels. It is important to alert your dentist if you have this condition as the medication used to manage it can also affect gum tissue. Hypertension medication does this by reducing the flow of saliva or inducing gum swelling. If blood pressure is very high, a dentist may decline to carry out dental procedures such as a dental implant as the stress involved may trigger a heart attack or stroke. Your dentist might recommend seeing a specialist to help bring the blood pressure down before carrying out any dental surgery.
Heart Attack/Stroke
If you have experienced any one of these, it is a good idea to tell your doctor so proper precautions can be taken. If critical dental work has to be done, the dentist might opt to do it in a hospital setting where any occurrence of these problems can be dealt with adequately. Patients who are at risk of stroke or heart disease are sometimes given blood thinners which might interfere with any dental procedures that the dentist might want to perform.
Pregnancy
Although strictly speaking this is not a medical condition, it is something that you need to alert your dentist. This is especially true during the last trimester where even being on the dentist’s chair might cause a lot of discomfort to a pregnant woman. If any medication is needed, your dentist will know what to prescribe so as not to interfere with the development of the child.
Having a highly experienced dentist is the first step towards excellent oral health. This is the reason why many residents of New York City trust Dr. Alex Rubinov, one of the top dentists in New York City. Book an appointment at his practice at (718) 253-0800.