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t m c ยป p u l s e | f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 9 34 A Visit to the Dentist Leads to a Heart Diagnosis Dental student takes a patient's vitals manually and finds a problem B y B r i t n i R . M c A s h a n D esiree Pearson of Pearland, Texas, is grateful that Chris Conser, a University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Dentistry student, took the time to check her vital signs before she had a filling replaced last spring. "In March, I had just turned 63 years old and I was tired and I've never been like that," Pearson recalled. "But I just thought it was part of being 63." Shortly before treating Pearson, Conser had attended a lecture by Shalizeh Patel, D.D.S., an associate professor at UTHealth School of Dentistry, about the importance of taking vitals manually at the begin- ning of every patient visit. "I'm a big advocate of students taking their time, getting to know their patients and taking vital signs appropriately," Patel said. "A lot of students are in a rush because they are trying to get things done and they get in the habit of using the electronic cuff monitors and many of those are not calibrated or work- ing properly." Years ago, Patel learned first- hand how important it is to pay attention to a patient's vital signs. She had a professor who was passionate about taking vitals manually, as well, back when it was a lot less common for dentists to do so. Soon after, she went home to visit her family and realized her dad wasn't feeling well. She took his vitals and found that he was having heart problems. Similarly, Conser was able to detect Pearson's heart trouble while taking her vitals manually. "So I did it the old school way with the cuff that you inflate and by feeling her wrist with my finger for a pulse," Conser said. "I started taking her blood pressure and something was a bit off and I was really uncertain, so I took it one or two more times." On this occasion, human touch proved to be Conser's most valuable tool. "In Mrs. Pearson's case, the electronic cuff gave a reading of her blood pressure and pulse, but it didn't provide the rhythm of the Chris Conser, a UTHealth School of Dentistry student, examines Desiree Pearson of Pearland, Texas.