Sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with poor oral health outcomes among United States adults

Abstract

Introduction: Oral health disparities remain a significant public health issue for United States (US) adults: 47.2% of US adults suffer from some form of periodontal diseases and 9% of US adults have advanced periodontal disease. Unfortunately, not much is known about the sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with these poor oral health outcomes. This study aims to examine the association between sociodemographic and clinical factors and poor oral health outcomes among US adults. Materials and Methods: Data from the 2013 to 2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used in the analysis for the participants aged 30 years and older (n = 4813). Logistic regression models were used to examine the association between sociodemographic and clinical factors and poor oral health outcomes. All analyses were conducted in SAS 9.4 and weighted to account for complex survey sampling methods. Results: This study found that low socioeconomic status was negatively associated with periodontal diseases. Older age (ages 65 years and older), Hispanic and non-Hispanic black race/ethnicity and limited access to dental care were positively associated with periodontal diseases. Conclusion: Future policy-level interventions are needed to address oral health disparities among vulnerable populations.