Statistics on Dental Visits
One of the most
important ways to address oral health issues is to have regular dental
visits. By doing so, this would allow
for prevention and maintenance that would ultimately reduce the chances of
chronic conditions from happening. The
Centers for Disease Control (2014) reports that a considerable percentage of
individuals from various age groups go without yearly dental visits.
Figure 1.
Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/dental.htm
Additional data from the National
Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (2014) shows that:
• 23%
of children between 2 to 11 years of age have never sought oral examination;
• Approximately
half of children between age group 2 to 5 have never been to the dentist;
• 3%
of the population between 12 to 19 years of age have never been to the dentist;
• 12%
of population between 20 to 64 years of age have not been to the dentist in the last 5 years;
• 23%
of elderly population (65 and older) has not been to dentist last 5 years.
If there is going to be an improvement
in oral health care, there will also need to be an increase in oral
examinations. Finding a way to overcome
the lack of connection will have to involve making changes from both the
patient and provider angles. Otherwise,
the trend will continue and result in more health issues caused by oral health
concerns.
Centers for Disease Control. (2014, May
14). FastStats - Oral and Dental Health. Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/dental.htm
National
Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. (2014, October). Treatment
Needs. Retrieved from
http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/DataStatistics/FindDataByTopic/TreatmentNeeds/
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