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.
• Call to action:
  • Improving the oral health of older Americans: What individuals can do
  • Improving the oral health of older Americans: Public health approaches

Location Data C.I.* Rank† Grade‡ United States 21.3 n/a n/a n/a Alabama 31.9 (28.5 - 35.6) 47 Alaska 23.0 (16.2 - 31.8) 31 Arizona 15.0 (11.7 - 19.0) 5 Arkansas 24.7 (21.8 - 27.8) 36 California 13.8 (11.0 - 17.2) 3 Colorado 18.1 (15.3 - 21.1) 15 Connecticut 12.4 (10.6 - 14.6) 1 Delaware 21.2 (18.1 - 24.6) 25 District of Columbia 19.4 (15.3 - 24.2) 19 Florida 18.7 (16.5 - 21.1) 17 Georgia 28.3 (24.6 - 32.3) 42 Hawaii§ n/a n/a n/a n/a Idaho 22.5 (19.5 - 25.7) 30 Illinois 18.8 (16.1 - 21.8) 18 Indiana 27.3 (24.7 - 30.1) 40 Iowa 23.3 (20.8 - 26.0) 33 Kansas 27.8 (25.8 - 30.3) 41 Kentucky 38.1 (34.9 - 41.5) 49 Louisiana 31.4 (28.8 - 34.1) 46 Maine 24.3 (21.2 - 27.7) 35 Maryland 16.7 (13.6 - 20.2) 9 Massachusetts 16.5 (14.3 - 19.0) 7 Michigan 17.2 (14.9 - 19.7) 13 Minnesota 14.3 (12.0 - 17.0) 4 Mississippi 29.6 (26.8 - 32.6) 44 Missouri 25.2 (22.4 - 28.3) 38 Montana 19.6 (16.9 - 22.7) 21 Nebraska 23.1 (21.1 - 25.4) 32 Nevada 16.5 (12.5 - 21.6) 7 New Hampshire 21.1 (18.4 - 24.1) 24 New Jersey 17.0 (15.4 - 18.7) 12 New Mexico 21.8 (19.5 - 24.3) 27 New York 16.9 (14.4 - 19.7) 11 North Carolina 28.3 (26.5 - 30.2) 42 North Dakota 25.0 (21.5 - 28.7) 37 Ohio 20.4 (16.9 - 24.5) 23 Oklahoma 31.2 (28.9 - 33.5) 45 Oregon 17.8 (15.4 - 20.5) 14 Pennsylvania 23.8 (21.4 - 26.2) 34 Rhode Island 18.4 (15.7 - 21.6) 16 South Carolina 21.8 (19.4 - 24.5) 27 South Dakota 26.1 (23.8 - 28.6) 39 Tennessee 32.3 (28.6 - 36.2) 48 Texas 16.8 (14.4 - 19.6) 10 Utah 13.6 (11.2 - 16.5) 2 Vermont 21.3 (19.1 - 23.6) 26 Virginia 19.4 (15.8 - 23.6) 19 Washington 16.1 (14.8 - 17.6) 6 West Virginia 42.9 (39.2 - 46.7) 50 Wisconsin 19.7 (16.9 - 22.7) 22 Wyoming 21.8 (19.0 - 25.0) 27

Make comparisons Healthy People 2010 Targets

= Upper Third (top performing 33%)   = Middle Third (middle 33%)   = Lower Third (lowest performing 33%)         * 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.