Less Than Half of American Youth Get Yearly Dental Visit

AHRQ News and Numbers

Release date: November 8, 2007

Only 45 percent of Americans 20 or younger visit a dentist once a year or more, according to data compiled for the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends at least two checkups a year in most cases.

The statistics on dental care come from a 2004 national survey. Results show only a slightly higher percentage of children got annual dental care in 2004 than in 1996, when 42 percent of children got at least one yearly exam.

Other highlights from the survey

• Only 31 percent of children from poor families saw a dentist once a year compared with 47 percent of children from middle-income families and 62 percent from high-income families.
• Only about 34 percent of black youths and 33 percent of Hispanic youths saw a dentist annually. The percentage was much higher—nearly 53 percent—for white youths.

AHRQ, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, works to enhance the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care in the United States. The data in this AHRQ News and Numbers summary are taken from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a detailed source of information on the health services used by Americans, the frequency with which they are used, the cost of those services, and how they are paid. For more information, go to Dental Use, Expenses, Dental Coverage, and Changes, 1996 and 2004.

For more information, or to speak with an AHRQ data expert, contact Bob Isquith at Bob.Isquith@ahrq.hhs.gov or call (301) 427-1539.

Current as of November 2007

Internet Citation:

Less Than Half of American Youth Get Yearly Dental Visit. AHRQ News and Numbers, November 8, 2007. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/nn/nn110807.htm