In an article in BMC Oral Health, researchers from CareQuest Institute and Texas A&M University College of Dentistry analyze the impact of structural and intermediary determinants on oral health outcomes. They found that adults who experienced any of the social determinants of health (SDOH) were more likely to have poor oral health outcomes.
Key findings include:
- Adults who experienced any SDOHs were significantly more likely to have had at least one tooth removed.
- Black adults were 67% more likely than white adults to experience tooth loss.
- Adults who reported racial discrimination were 20% less likely to have visited a dentist in the last year.
- Adults experiencing food insecurity or housing instability were approximately 30% less likely to report positive oral health.
The authors write:
The observed disparities highlight the need for targeted policies to address the structural determinants of oral health inequality.
Researchers analyzed four structural determinants (race, ethnicity, education, and income) and four intermediary determinants (housing instability, food insecurity, lack of transportation, and racial discrimination).
Read the article in BMC Oral Health (open access)
You may also be interested in:
- State of Oral Health Equity in America 2024, an infographic highlighting key findings from our most recent annual survey, the largest nationally representative survey on the oral health of adults in the US.
- Cost, Race, and the Persistent Challenges in Our Health System, a report examining discrimination and socioeconomic factors as leading contributors to oral health disparities in the US.
- Hunger Pains, a report analyzing the link between oral health and food insecurity, which affects 24 million US adults.