The findings were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) which estimated the volume of dental decay (cavities), preventive techniques, and tooth damage from a cross sectional national survey. Though the actual trends are positive some demographic sectors remain at risk that is high.
“This survey represents the dental health of 256 million Americans,” stated Dr. Bruce Pihlstrom, DDS, acting director of the division of medical research and health promotion at NIH’s National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. “While the findings are encouraging, the report clearly informs us that much more effort is needed to boost the oral health of low income Americans.”
Though the portion removal of germs and plaque children that have not had cavities in permanent teeth decreased by 15 % since 1994 — thirty two % of Mexican American and twenty seven % of African American children ages 2 to 11 had untreated decay than 18 % for Caucasian kids.
For lower income adults, in excess of one third had untreated tooth decay compared with sixteen percent for high income adults.
There was a lot more bad news for smokers with 14 % of existing smokers much older than 20 years having lost all of their teeth when compared to 4.6 % among nonsmokers.
One reason for the improvements cited is dental sealants. These groove sealing resins keep the decay-causing bacteria from penetrating the susceptible fissures in the tooth. Again, income levels made a difference. 37.9 % of white children had a minimum of one sealant while 23.4 Mexican American kids & 22.6 of African American kids had a minimum of 1 sealant.
The survey reveals a whole lot of progress continues to be created in a relatively small amount of time because of sealants, fluoride treatments, patient education, the higher amount of school programs on oral health, and the efforts and devotion of dental professionals. Additionally apparent, is the importance to continue to reach even more of the population with education and prevention.
