First Circle Medical

Many patients are apprehensive about visiting a dentist, since they are not sure whether the dental equipment used is properly sterilized and do not want to get a new infection after visiting the dentist. If fact, if have a choice, most patients will try to get the first dental appointment of the day, to avoid this problem.

Most dental offices sterilize the instruments used for treating the patient. They use either a chemical or heat method of sterilization of the dental equipment and tools. The heat sterilization method is the most commonly used method for dental treatment. A high temperature is reached, so that all bacteria are killed. Some low cost dental instruments are disposable and new  instruments are used for every patient.

However, some dentists may say that they are sterilizing, but just wipe off the equipment and use it on the next patient. In such cases, it is important to closely observer the office and staff to understand how sanitary it is.
Some of the indicators of the sanitation level are:
1. The staff should wash their hands before they see the patient
2. Are plastic barriers used
3. Whether the package of dental instruments is opened in front of the patient.

Without any instruments, it is difficult to detect high blood pressure, which has been called ‘the silent killer’.You are very unlikely to know that you have high blood pressure as it does not have any obvious symptoms. Many patients become aware that they are suffering from this ailment only during a routine medical checkup or when they suffer from a stroke or related condition.

A sphygmomanometer is used for measuring blood pressure and electronic versions of this instrument are also available to measure blood pressure with  greater accuracy.  The low blood pressure symptoms are more obvious, the patients feel dizzy when he or she gets up quickly.

An approximate way of measuring high blood pressure is to count the number of beats your heart has in a minute. The normal rate is from 80 to 90 per minute. Some senior and experienced doctors can accurately guess a person’s blood pressure by feeling their pulses, based on rate, depth and other factors. However, the blood pressure varies depending on the physical and mental condition of the patient, a person who is under stress or excited is more likely to have high blood pressure readings.  The blood pressure of the same person is likely to be much lower, when he or she is relaxing.