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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. 

Read more about this resource

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.