Dizzy or Hypermobile? How to Make the Dentist Work for You

3 days ago

3 min read

Lisa Brekke, PT, DPT

If the room spins the moment the dental chair tips back, or your jaw aches for days after a cleaning, you are not imagining it, and you are not alone. For people with vertigo, POTS or joint hypermobility, a routine dental visit can be one of the hardest appointments of the year. Many quietly stop going.

That is a problem, because your mouth is not separate from the rest of your body.

Why the dental chair is so hard

Dizziness. Lying back with your head below your feet can shift tiny crystals in the inner ear and set off positional vertigo (BPPV). If you have POTS, the trouble often comes on the way back up, when blood pools in your legs and you feel faint as you sit or stand.

Hypermobility. With hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (hEDS) or hypermobility spectrum disorder, the jaw joint can strain or slip when held open, and gums may bruise or bleed easily. Many people also find that numbing doesn't take or wears off too soon. A 2026 clinical trial backed this up: lidocaine worked normally at first in people with EDS, but lost its effect sooner than in people without it.

Why skipping the dentist matters

Nearly half of U.S. adults over 30 have gum disease, and most don't feel it. Gum disease has been linked with heart disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and frailty in older adults. Hidden mouth infections also matter before surgery: in one recent study, about 1 in 20 people screened before a hip or knee replacement had an active oral infection they didn't know about.

Regular checkups catch these problems early, while they are still easy to treat.

A few simple things to ask for

You don't need a long list to make a big difference. Start with these:

"Please tell me before you move the chair." Ask them to move it slowly, and only recline as far as you can tolerate, keeping your head above your feet.
"Can I sit up in stages?" Take a minute or two upright before you stand, and drink water before your visit if you have POTS.
"Can we use a bite block and take breaks?" Resting your jaw keeps a hypermobile joint from straining.
"Please check that I'm numb, and check again." Tell them if numbing hasn't worked for you before, and what has.
"Can we agree on a stop signal?" A raised hand that means "pause" puts you back in control.

Most dental teams are glad to help. They just need to know what you need.

Talk to your physical therapist

Your PT already knows how your body responds to position changes, how your joints move and what triggers your symptoms. That makes them a great partner for getting ready for the dentist. Ask your PT to:

help you practice tolerating a reclined position
work on jaw and neck support strategies
fill out an accommodations note you can hand to your dental team

If it has been more than a year since your last dental visit, bring it up at your next PT session. It's a small step that protects much more than your smile.

For clinicians: learn more through mentoring

Are you a PT or other clinician who works with clients with dizziness, POTS or hypermobility? Our mentoring program goes deeper into these conditions, including how to help clients get the dental and medical care they need, with practical tools like our accommodations note.

This post is for general education and isn't medical or dental advice. Talk with your own care team about what's right for you.