ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Diabetes mellitus and hypertension are the leading chronic diseases in Saudi Arabia; 23.1% of the Saudi population are diabetic and 25.5% are hypertensive. This cross-sectional study was made on dental setting to determine the effectiveness of screening of diabetes and hypertension in dental clinics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was carried out in the primary care dental clinics at the Dental College in King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Before starting any treatment, a face-to-face interview was administered to collect a brief medical history and personal data followed by measurement of body mass index (BMI). After that, blood pressure level reading was obtained using electrical sphygmomanometer. Finally, a glucose level reading was obtained from capillary blood from the patient's third fingertip using glucose reader. RESULTS: Our study included 283 participants, 118 of whom were females (41.7%). Our study showed that a significant amount of the participants are at risk of having hypertension (44.8%). In addition, a significant number (10.2%) of the participants are at risk of having diabetes. Furthermore, 35.7% of the sample had obesity as a risk factor for diabetes and hypertension. CONCLUSION: The dental team can play an important role in screening of diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic diseases. In Saudi Arabia, public awareness of the chronic diseases is still critically insufficient. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Our study showed the importance of the screening even for patients with negative history of diabetes or hypertension.