Online Program

317297
Investigating sexual orientation-related oral health disparities in the United States


Wednesday, November 4, 2015 : 8:30 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.

Scott Schwartz, DDS, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Kimon Divaris, DDS, PhD, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Anne Sanders, MS, PhD, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Jessica Lee, DDS, MPH, PhD, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Objective. Recent evidence has documented health disparities according to sexual orientation. Despite the Surgeon General’s call to investigate oral health disparities among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals, data in this domain are limited. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated objective and subjective oral health indicators among LGB adults in the United States (US).

Methods. We used data from 2 cycles (2009-2012) of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a sample representative of the US community-dwelling population, restricting analyses to 18-59 year-olds. We considered objective measures such as: dental caries, chronic periodontitis, natural remaining teeth, oral HPV DNA. Additionally, we examined self-reported oral health status and receipt of oral health services. We obtained overall and sex-stratified crude and adjusted marginal estimates, accounting for the complex sampling design. We contrasted strata of heterosexual, gay/lesbian, and bisexual participants using a multiple-testing corrected P<0.05 criterion.

Results. We found no differences in clinical oral health measures; however, gay males had 42% higher oral HPV prevalence than heterosexual males (15.4% versus 10.8%). Significant differences were noted in subjective oral health for both sexes: more bisexuals rated their oral health as fair/poor (41.6%) than homosexuals (26.7%) and heterosexuals (27.4%). Homosexuals, particularly males, had the highest reports of “bone loss around teeth” and having “had gum treatment”.

Conclusion. We found significant differences in subjective ratings but not clinical measures of oral health according to sexual orientation. This finding warrants further investigation via studies of the psychosocial construction of oral health among the LGB population.

Learning Areas:

Diversity and culture
Epidemiology
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Describe objective and subjective oral health indicators of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals in the United States.

Keyword(s): Oral Health, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT)

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a graduate student in the School of Public Health and a resident in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry and have completed the protocol, research, and data analysis as part of the Master's thesis requirement for the Master of Public Health.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.