Dental Public Health Resident Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
Participants should be aware of the following financial/non-financial relationships: . Ekpa Eyoma, DDS, MPH: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.. Erin Hamilton, PhD: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.. Shahdokht Boroumand, DMD MPH: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.. Gina Thornton-Evans, DDS, MPH: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To identify racial/ethnic differences in cost-related delayed or forgone dental care among US adults ages 18 to 64 years.
METHODS: Data from the 2019 National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative cross-sectional household interview survey, were used. Using logistic regression models that controlled for sex and age, we examined racial/ethnic differences in having no dental visit, delayed dental care because of cost, or forgone needed dental care because of cost. All analyses accounted for the complex sample design of the survey and used sample population weights. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) are significant at p<0.05.
RESULTS: Thirty-five percent of adults had no past-year dental visit (31.7% for Non-Hispanic Whites [NHW], 38.9% for Non-Hispanic Blacks [NHB], and 41.3% for Hispanics). Twenty-three percent of adults delayed dental care due to cost (21.1% for NHW, 25.1% for NHB, and 32.5% for Hispanics). Nineteen percent of adults forwent needed dental care due to cost (16.2% for NHW, 22.1% for NHB, 26.1% for Hispanics). From logistic models, compared to NHW, NHB and Hispanics were more likely to have no past-year dental visit (aOR: 1.40, 95% CI [1.25, 1.57]; 1.53, 95% CI [1.39, 1.69], respectively), delayed dental care due to cost (aOR: 1.25, [1.11, 1.42]; 1.84 [1.66, 2.05], respectively), or forgone needed dental care due to cost (aOR: 1.49, [1.30, 1.71]; 1.91, [1.71, 2.41], respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: Among working-age adults, forgoing or delaying dental care due to cost appears to be greater among racial/ethnic minorities compared to NHW adults.
