Oral Health 2000:Facts and Figures

• The nation抯 oral health is the best it has ever been, yet oral diseases remain common in the United States.
   
• The burden of oral diseases is spread unevenly throughout the population. Many more poor people and some racial/ethnic minority groups have untreated oral disease than does the population as a whole.
   
• Safe and effective measures for preventing oral disease are underused. These include water fluoridation, dental sealants, and regular professional care, as well as tobacco cessation.
   
• Tooth decay is one of the most common childhood diseases�times as common as asthma and 7 times as common as hay fever in 5-to-17-year-olds.
   
• 18 percent of 2-to-4-year-old children have experienced tooth decay, and 16 percent have untreated decay.
   
• Only 23 percent of 8-year-old children have at least one dental sealant on their molar teeth. 
   
• By age 17, 78 percent of young people have had a cavity, and 7 percent have lost at least one permanent tooth.
   
• Among adults aged 35 to 44 years, 69 percent have lost at least one permanent tooth.
   
• Among adults aged 65 to 74, 26 percent have lost all their natural teeth.
   
• Untreated tooth decay remains a problem. About one-third of persons across all age groups have untreated decay.
   
• Among adults aged 35 to 44, 48 percent have gingivitis, and 22 percent have destructive gum disease. Tobacco use increases the risk of gum disease.
   
• In the U.S., 30,000 people are diagnosed with mouth and throat cancer each year, and 8,000 die of these cancers. 
   
• Mouth and throat cancers are the sixth most common cancers in U.S. males and the fourth most common in African American men.
   
• Oral clefts are one of the most common birth defects in the United States. The prevalence of cleft lip/palate in the general population is about 1 per 1,000 births.
   
• Community water fluoridation reaches over 144 million people, or 62 percent of Americans on public water supplies. One hundred million Americans do not have fluoridated water.
   
• In 1998, a total of $53.8 billion was spent on dental care� percent was paid by dental insurance, 4 percent by government programs, and 48 percent was paid out-of-pocket. Expenditures in the year 2000 are expected to exceed $60 billion.
   
• More than 108 million Americans do not have dental insurance. For every child without medical insurance, there are 2.6 without dental insurance; for every adult without medical insurance, three are without dental insurance.

For more information, contact:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Division of Oral Health, MS F-10
4770 Buford Highway, NE
Atlanta, GA 30341
1-888-CDC-2306
http://www.cdc.gov

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
National Institutes of Health
Building 45, Room 4AS-19
45 Center Drive MSC 6400
Bethesda, MD 20892-6400
http://www.nidcr.nih.gov

If you have questions or comments, e-mail:ccdinfo@cdc.gov

Related Links

• See other Fact Sheets from the Office of the Surgeon General
  
  
• Oral Health In America: A Report of the Surgeon General

From the Office of the Surgeon General
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
May 2000

Historical Document
Page last modified: October 4, 2004
Content source: Division of Oral Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion