Abstract
Objective: This study examined recent trends of preventive dental care utilization among Americans aged 50 and above, focusing on variations across racial and ethnic groups including Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, American Indians/Alaska Natives, and Asians.Methods: Self-reported information on oral health behaviors was collected from 644,635 participants in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System between 1999 and 2008.Results: Despite a significant upward trend of frequency of dental cleaning from 1999 to 2008 (OR = 1.02), in 2008 still only 56–77% of any ethnic or racial group reported having had a dental cleaning in the previous 12 months. Relative to Whites, Blacks (OR = 0.65) were less likely to have a dental cleaning in the previous 12 months. These variations persisted even when SES, health conditions, health behaviors, and number of permanent teeth were controlled. In contrast, Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians/Alaskan Natives did not differ from Whites in dental cleanings.Discussion: This is the first study to provide national estimates of the frequency of dental cleaning and associated trends over time for five major ethnic groups aged 50 and above in the U.S. simultaneously. Our findings suggest that public health programs with an emphasis on educating middle-aged and older minority populations on the benefits of oral health could have a large impact, as there is much room for improvement. Given the importance of oral health and a population that is rapidly becoming older and more diverse, the need for improved dental care utilization is significant.
Highlights
Among the many health care issues that middle-aged and older adults face, care of one’s teeth is one that may have serious repercussions if overlooked
Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians/Alaskan Natives did not differ from Whites in dental cleanings
Hispanics, and American Indians/Alaskan Natives had a lower proportion of respondents that were married in comparison to the White reference group, with Asians being the only group with a significantly higher proportion than the reference group
Summary
Among the many health care issues that middle-aged and older adults face, care of one’s teeth is one that may have serious repercussions if overlooked. While prior reports presented findings regarding utilization rates of individuals in earlier time periods; no up-to-date statistics on whether rates of utilization meet the annual dental checkups recommended by the US Department of Health and Human Services [4]. Most of these prior studies only reported cursory descriptive results, and have not included formal statistical tests by adjusting for population heterogeneity that could potentially contribute to the impact of race/ethnicity on dental care utilization
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