Oral Health, U.S. 2002 Annual Report
Section 15: LINKS TO SYSTEMIC HEALTH/ MANIFESTATIONS OF SYSTEMIC DISEASE
| 15.2 |
Dental visits in the past year among those diagnosed with diabetes |
Regular dental visits provide important opportunities for prevention, early detection, and treatment of periodontal problems and soft tissue lesions in persons with diabetes. Among adult diabetics, data from the 1998 NHIS showed that 49.9% had visited a dentist within the past year while 64.6% of nondiabetic adults visited a dentist within the past year. The percentage of nondiabetics visiting a dentist within the past year was significantly greater than that for diabetics for all race/ethnic groups (except Hispanics), gender, and federal poverty level.
SOURCE OF DATA
The analyses reported here are based on the 1998 National Health Interview Survey, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Diabetics are defined as those who reported being told by a doctor that they had diabetes. Analyses were performed separately for total, dentate and edentulous adults.
- Demographic differences
- Dental visits in the past year are much less common among edentulous compared with dentate adults in all groups.
- A lower percentage of diabetics visited a dentist during the past year compared to non-diabetics. This difference was significant for dentate (63.2% vs. 72.3%) but not for edentulous adults (16.2% vs. 18.4%).
- Among dentate adults, a lower percentage of non-Hispanic white diabetics compared to non-Hispanic white non-diabetics visited a dentist during the past year. The percentages for diabetics and non-diabetics are similar among non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics (Figure 15.2.1).
- Among dentate adults, a lower percentage of female diabetics compared to female non-diabetics visited a dentist during the past year (Figure 15.2.1).
- Among both dentate and edentulous adults, a lower percentage of diabetics living at or above the federal poverty level visited a dentist within the past year compared to non-diabetics living at or above the federal poverty level (Figure 15.2.2).
- A lower percentage of diabetics with more than 12 years of education had visited the dentist in the past year compared to non-diabetics with more than 12 years of education (Figure 15.2.2). Similar results held for edentulous adults.
Bullets reference data that can be found in Tables 15.2.1 and 15.2.2.
Figure 15.2.1. Percentage of dentate adults aged 50 and older with and without diabetes who visited a dentist* within the past year by race/ethnicity and gender
 [D]
*Types of dentists include dental hygienists, orthodontists, oral surgeons, and all other dental specialists.
Data source: 1998 National Health Interview Survey, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Figure 15.2.2. Percentage of dentate adults aged 50 and older with and without diabetes who visited a dentist* within the past year by federal poverty level (FPL) and education
 [D]
*Types of dentists include dental hygienists, orthodontists, oral surgeons, and all other dental specialists.
Data source: 1998 National Health Interview Survey, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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