Community Dental Services CIC (CDS) Lincolnshire and Essex are offering blood pressure checks to patients over 40 years old to identify hypertension and signpost them towards early intervention.

This local Integrated Care Board (ICB) initiative pilot will be running within specific CDS clinics until July 2025.

Hypertension is often asymptomatic but is also a major cardiovascular risk factor. The risk of high blood pressure increases with age, therefore regular checks are important to best manage an individual’s health and avoid hypertension. CDS’s adult patients, parents and carers are being offered a blood pressure check within their dental appointments by trained employees in CDS’s clinics in North Hykeham, Harlow and Epping.

Nicola Bushell is an operations manager in Essex at one of the locations where the pilot is being delivered. She said, “As CDS is a social enterprise, we aim to continuously improve the health of our patients. We want to make every moment count, so if we can provide oral health treatment and identify patients with hypertension at the same time, we feel that is a good use of our resources and time”.

A CDS dental nurse and receptionist with one of the blood pressure machines.

Blood pressure lowering therapies are useful in reducing the incidence of myocardial infarction, strokes, heart failure, and cardiovascular diseases. Offering a blood pressure checking service is beneficial as many patients and people who support them may not regularly visit their GP or other health services that provide these checks.

According to Blood Pressure UK, around one in three adults in the UK has high blood pressure, with half of people not being diagnosed or receiving treatment. CDS CIC has said having the opportunity to receive a blood pressure check whilst visiting a dental clinic is useful in providing holistic healthcare and further supporting the patients. It is also a good opportunity to raise awareness and develop the dental team’s competencies.

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