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Healthy Aging - Oral Health: Complete Tooth Loss
Indicator 3: Oral Health: Complete Tooth Loss
The percentage of older adults who have lost all their natural teeth has declined substantially since the 1950s. This decline is the result of major improvements in the field of oral health, including: community water fluoridation; advanced dental technology; better oral hygiene; and more frequent use of dental services.
Periodontal (gum) diseases are associated with diabetes and possibly with cardiovascular disease and stroke. These and other oral health problems among older adults can lead to needless pain and suffering; difficulty speaking, chewing, and swallowing; and loss of self-esteem.
A confidence interval (CI) describes the level of
uncertainty of an estimate and specifies the range in which the true value is
likely to fall. The State of Aging and Health in America online report
uses a 95% level of significance, which means that 95% of the time, the true
value falls within these boundaries.
†
Rankings are based on the relative numeric scores for
each indicator, with a ranking of "1" indicating the highest rank.
‡
Grades are calculated as tertiles (thirds) and show state performance relative
to all other states.
§
2003 data are used for Hawaii because no 2004 data exist.
Note:When comparing
prevalence of variables across states or years, we recommend the use of
confidence intervals. If the confidence intervals overlap, the difference is
not statistically significant.
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30333, USA
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