OBJECTIVES: To examine racial/ethnic disparities in oral health among older Americans. METHODS: Differences in frequency of edentulism and number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth were assessed in 2,679 non-Hispanic white, 742 non-Hispanic black, and 934 Mexican-American individuals aged 60 and older from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2004). RESULTS: Controlling for potential confounding variables, blacks and Mexican-Americans had significantly higher numbers of decayed teeth but fewer numbers of filled teeth than whites. Although blacks had a lower likelihood of being edentulous than whites, dentate blacks had a higher number of missing teeth. Compared with whites, Mexican-Americans were less likely to be edentulous, and dentate Mexican-Americans had fewer missing teeth. Our study also showed that blacks and Mexican-Americans had less frequent dental checkups than whites. CONCLUSIONS: Oral health disparities are persistent across racial/ethnic groups for older Americans despite the fact that the differences between groups typically diminish when socioeconomic, health-related, and behavioral factors are considered in the models. Our study suggests that reducing racial/ethnic oral health disparities requires multiple clinical approaches.
OBJECTIVES: To examine racial/ethnic disparities in oral health among older Americans. METHODS: Differences in frequency of edentulism and number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth were assessed in 2,679 non-Hispanic white, 742 non-Hispanic black, and 934 Mexican-American individuals aged 60 and older from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2004). RESULTS: Controlling for potential confounding variables, blacks and Mexican-Americans had significantly higher numbers of decayed teeth but fewer numbers of filled teeth than whites. Although blacks had a lower likelihood of being edentulous than whites, dentate blacks had a higher number of missing teeth. Compared with whites, Mexican-Americans were less likely to be edentulous, and dentate Mexican-Americans had fewer missing teeth. Our study also showed that blacks and Mexican-Americans had less frequent dental checkups than whites. CONCLUSIONS: Oral health disparities are persistent across racial/ethnic groups for older Americans despite the fact that the differences between groups typically diminish when socioeconomic, health-related, and behavioral factors are considered in the models. Our study suggests that reducing racial/ethnic oral health disparities requires multiple clinical approaches.
Authors: Georgina P Zabos; Mary E Northridge; Marguerite J Ro; Chau Trinh; Roger Vaughan; Joyce Moon Howard; Ira Lamster; Mary T Bassett; Alwyn T Cohall Journal: Am J Public Health Date: 2002-01 Impact factor: 9.308
Authors: R G Craig; R Boylan; J Yip; P Bamgboye; J Koutsoukos; D Mijares; J Ferrer; M Imam; S S Socransky; A D Haffajee Journal: J Clin Periodontol Date: 2001-06 Impact factor: 8.728
Authors: Celia F Hybels; Bei Wu; Lawrence R Landerman; Jersey Liang; Joan M Bennett; Brenda L Plassman Journal: J Public Health Dent Date: 2016-04-07 Impact factor: 1.821
Authors: James D Beck; Marston Youngblood; Jane C Atkinson; Sally Mauriello; Linda M Kaste; Victor M Badner; Shirley Beaver; Karen Becerra; Richard Singer Journal: J Am Dent Assoc Date: 2014-06 Impact factor: 3.634