Essential hypertension, which is common in dentists, has been attributed to mental stress but the importance of working conditions has not been evaluated. The pressor and forearm circulatory response to correct and incorrect working position during dental practice has been evaluated in 10 normotensive dentists and compared with the effects of mental stress. Mental stress elicited a significant increase in blood pressure not observed during correct dental practice despite a comparable forearm vasodilatation during both tests. Conversely incorrect working position, significantly raised blood pressure to an extent comparable to what observed during mental stress but with only a transitory and rapidly abolished forearm vasodilatation. The recordings of blood pressure or peripheral hemodynamic changes per se did not allow to discriminate between a specific response to mental stress and dental practice which, were clearly differentiated by the analysis of combined pressor and hemodynamic measurements. We conclude that odontoiatric practice carried out in an incorrect working position is able to elicit either an increase in blood pressure or abnormalities in peripheral vascular response which may contribute to the high occurrence of systemic hypertension in dentists. The evaluation of peripheral hemodynamic profile during working conditions seems to provide a useful method for a better understanding of the pattern of cardiovascular involvement in dentistry.