QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Percentage* of Adults Aged ≥25 Years Who Saw a Dentist in the Past Year,† by Education Level and Sex — National Health Interview Survey,§ 2018
Weekly / February 21, 2020 / 69(7);198
Abbreviation: GED = general educational development certificate.
* With 95% confidence intervals shown with error bars.
† Based on a response of “6 months or less” or “More than 6 months, but not more than 1 year ago” to the question “About how long has it been since you last saw a dentist? Include all types of dentists, such as orthodontists, oral surgeons, and all other dental specialists, as well as dental hygienists.”
§ Estimates are based on household interviews of a sample of the noninstitutionalized U.S. civilian population aged ≥25 years and are derived from the National Health Interview Survey Sample Adult component. Estimates are age-adjusted using the projected 2000 U.S. population as the standard population and using four age groups: 25–34, 35–44, 45-64, and ≥65 years.
In 2018, among adults aged ≥25 years, women (69.4%) were more likely than men (61.2%) to have seen a dentist in the past year. The percentage of men and women who saw a dentist in the past year increased as education level increased. Among women, those with a Bachelor’s degree or higher were the most likely to have seen a dentist in the past year (82.5%) and those with less than a high school education were least likely (51.4%). Among men, the same pattern prevailed (74.6% compared with 41.9%). Within each education group, the percentage of women who saw a dentist in the past year was higher than the percentage of men.
Source: National Health Interview Survey, 2018. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/index.htm.
Reported by: Mark J. Montgomery, MPH, lqk1@cdc.gov, 301-458-4977; Deepthi Kandi, MS.
Suggested citation for this article: QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Percentage of Adults Aged ≥25 Years Who Saw a Dentist in the Past Year, by Education Level and Sex — National Health Interview Survey, 2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:198. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6907a6.