Maine Oral Health Program

Reports And Publications

CDC Releases New Oral Health Surveillance Report, 2011-2016

The CDC Division of Oral Health has released a new surveillance report, Trends in Dental Caries and Sealants, Tooth Retention, and Edentulism, United States, 1999-2004 to 2011-2016. This new report uses data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and provides national estimates for selected oral health measures during 2011-2016, examines changes since 1999-2004, and highlights disparities in oral health by certain sociodemographic characteristics. Measures include the prevalence and severity of dental caries, prevalence of dental sealants in children and adolescents, and tooth retention and edentulism among adults and older adults. Key takeaways: Prevalence of untreated tooth decay in young children has dropped from 21% to 10%; Sealant prevalence increased by 35% among children; Some groups of adults were more than 2x more likely to have untreated tooth decay; and Total tooth loss decreased in adults over 65, but people who currently smoke cigarettes are 3x more likely to lose all of their teeth than people who don't smoke. The new surveillance report and accompanying infographics can be found online at https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/publications/OHSR-2019-index.html.