U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges

About this resource:

Non-Systematic Review

Source: National Institutes of Health

Last Reviewed: 2021

Workgroups: Oral Health Workgroup

Healthy teeth and gums are essential to people’s overall health and well-being. This report takes a comprehensive look at the nation’s oral health over the last 20 years. It examines scientific advances, as well as challenges — like unequal access to dental care — that affect the oral health of people in the United States. 

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Objectives related to this resource (11)

Reduce the proportion of children and adolescents with lifetime tooth decay — OH‑01
Little or no detectable change
Reduce the proportion of children and adolescents with active and untreated tooth decay — OH‑02
Improving
Reduce the proportion of adults with active or untreated tooth decay — OH‑03
Improving
Reduce the proportion of older adults with untreated root surface decay — OH‑04
Target met or exceeded
Reduce the proportion of adults aged 45 years and over who have lost all their teeth — OH‑05
Getting worse
Reduce the proportion of adults aged 45 years and over with moderate and severe periodontitis — OH‑06
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of oral and pharyngeal cancers detected at the earliest stage — OH‑07
Baseline only
Increase use of the oral health care system — OH‑08
LHI label
Target met or exceeded
Increase the proportion of low-income youth who have a preventive dental visit — OH‑09
Getting worse
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents who have dental sealants on 1 or more molars — OH‑10
Getting worse
Increase the proportion of people whose water systems have the recommended amount of fluoride — OH‑11
Baseline only

Suggested Citation

1.

National Institutes of Health. (2021). Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges. Retrieved from https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/research/oralhealthinamerica.