The effect of the dental setting on blood pressure measurement.

Hypertension screening is a common activity in dental offices. However, this setting may elevate blood pressure, resulting in excessive patient concern and referrals. To experimentally test this question, blood pressure was measured in 60 subjects in a dental setting and a medical setting. Systolic and diastolic pressure differences were small but significantly higher (4.5 mmHg and 5.5 mmHg, respectively) in the dental setting.