Sir, we have read the suggestion of Sproat and co-workers,1 that dentists could participate in screening for hypertension, with great interest. In the Netherlands, high blood pressure screening in the dental office was also proposed, 20 years ago.2 In a subsequent survey among 259 dentists, it was shown that if there was a financial remuneration for the procedure, 40% of the respondents replied with a definite yes, while another 40% indicated that they might take part. Without fee, only 16% said they would definitely participate and 34% said they might.3

The more recently graduated, the more willing the dentist was to participate in hypertension screening. The size of the practice also influenced the willingness to participate. Half of the dentists with a small practice (<500 patients) refused even when they were financially compensated versus only 15% of those with a larger practice (>2,000 patients).3 In view of these Dutch results, it is interesting to explore the current opinion of UK dentists on these issues, since they may affect the implementation of high blood pressure screening in the dental office.