Improvement of Americans’ Oral Health on Decade-Long Rise
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, titled “Surveillance for Dental Caries, Dental Sealants, Tooth Retention, Edentulism and Enamel Fluorosis—United States, 1988-1994 and 1999-2002,” found a significant improvement in the oral health of Americans. The study used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to obtain current estimates of oral health status statistics, including the prevalence of caries and tooth loss, and the numbers of dental sealants placed. The survey represents more than 256 million Americans.

Major findings of the study include higher numbers of children and teens who have never had tooth decay in their permanent teeth, as well as increased tooth retention in older adults compared with the results of a similar study conducted in 1994. Also, the number of dental sealants used has increased over that same time period.

But while Americans’ oral health is improving, the study also found that 65 percent of adolescents between the ages of 16 and 19 have experienced tooth decay or received fillings in their permanent teeth. This indicates a continuing need for increased efforts to improve oral health conditions.

The report also found some major oral health disparities between high- and low-income groups, as well as among different races. While there were improvements in oral health status overall, statistics for some demographic groups were alarming. For instance, there was an overall decrease of 15 percent in the prevalence of tooth decay for children between the ages of 6 and 19, but this statistic encompasses a range that varies between the 18 percent decrease in white, non-Hispanic children and the 4 percent decrease in decay for Mexican-American adolescents.

And while the use of dental sealants increased for children in all groups, 37.9 percent of white, non-Hispanic children had at least one sealed tooth, while only 23.4 percent of Mexican-American children and 23.4 percent of non-Hispanic black children had the same treatment.

While the trend of improved oral health for all Americans is promising, the fact that these disparities exist means that there is still room for improvement in all areas. To view the complete report, visit www.cdc.gov/mmwr.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention news release