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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Sheila Franco, NCHS/CDC, 3311 Toledo Road, Room 6221, Hyattsville, MD 20782, 301/458-4331, sfranco@cdc.gov

Introduction: Dental pain can interfere with work and social activities and increase health care costs. Tooth pain is often caused by untreated dental caries, but may also be due to other sources. Some types of dental pain can be prevented through regular ongoing dental visits. To better understand differences in dental health, this study examines reported dental pain, untreated dental caries, and utilization of dental care by age, race/ethnicity, and poverty status. Methods: Three nationally-representative surveys are used to examine dental health issues: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the National Health Interview Survey, and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Persons without any teeth were excluded from the caries and pain analyses. Results: In 1999-2002, 24% of working-age adults (18-64 years of age) had untreated dental caries, compared with only 17% of older adults. Dental caries were more common among poor (40%) than nonpoor working-age adults (16%). Thirty-six %of working-age people of Mexican origin had untreated dental caries compared to 19% non-Hispanic white adults. In 2002, about half of Hispanics (49%) reported at least one dental visit in the last year, compared to 65% of non-Hispanic working-age adults. Forty-four % of poor working-age adults reported a dental visit in the past year compared with 69% of nonpoor adults. In 2002, dental pain is more common among working-age adults than older adults and among poor than nonpoor working-age adults. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that there are significant differences in dental health and utilization by age, race/ethnicity, and poverty.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this section will be able to

• Describe differences untreated dental caries and dental pain by age, race/ethnicity, and poverty status.
• Discuss the utilization patterns of dental care by demographic characteristics.
• Describe the trend of untreated dental caries and dental care utilization.

Keywords: Health Disparities, Utilization

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No