Dentist visits decrease with age, especially among minorities

The visits to the dentist drop dramatically after age 80, discover a new study by researchers at the College of Nursing Rory Meyers of the University of New York and the University of Hawaii in Mānoa.

The study, published online in the journal Research on agingalso highlights disparities in dental consultations among American adults by race and country of birth, with immigrants and racial and ethnic minorities less likely to access care.

Oral health is increasingly recognized as an essential element of healthy aging. It is closely related to general health and quality of life. Regular dental examinations can prevent oral diseases and maintain good oral health.

However, seeing a dentist regularly is a challenge for many Americans, especially for the elderly, racial and ethnic minorities and immigrant populations. Older people face barriers such as lack of access to quality dental care, awareness of the importance of oral health and dental insurance coverage . Medicare does not cover most dental care and only 12% of Medicare beneficiaries report having at least one dental insurance from another source to help them pay for their dental expenses. Barriers to dental care are increasing for racial and ethnic minorities and immigrants, who may experience racial discrimination and language barriers in health care settings.

"To promote oral health and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in disparities, it is essential to consult a dentist regularly," said Wei Zhang, Ph.D., a professor and director of the department of sociology of the United States. University of Hawaii at Mānoa. and the first author of the study. "The absence of preventative dental care can have serious consequences such as tooth decay, pain, tooth loss and inflammation."

In this study, researchers examined the frequency with which people visit a dentist as they age, focusing on American adults aged 51 and over, and explore variations by race and country of birth. . Although previous studies have examined recent trends in dental utilization among adults in the United States, this study expands these efforts using longitudinal data focused on middle-aged and older adults over an extended period of time. .

The researchers used data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a longitudinal study from the University of Michigan that conducts interviews with a national sample of middle and older adults. They badyzed dental utilization rates (measured by the number of people who visited a dentist in the last two years) from 20,488 study, race and family members. ethnic groups, including 17,661 born in the United States and 2,827 persons born abroad.

Seventy per cent of adults have visited a dentist in the last two years, but this rate has dropped significantly since the age of about 80. Adults of all races and ethnicities born in the United States were more likely to consult a dentist than immigrants (62%). . It is interesting to note that the gap in care between US-born adults and immigrants has narrowed with age, suggesting that age and acculturation may play a role in reducing disparities in Oral health topic over time.

The researchers also found that white adults had higher service utilization rates than black and Hispanic adults. Although utilization rates for services decreased with age for all groups, rates of decline for whites were slower than those for others.

"Our study went beyond previous research by confirming that racial and ethnic disparities were important and persistent as people grew older, regardless of where they were born, while taking into account a wide range of factors. This finding is alarming as it indicates that some unmeasured factors are beyond the scope of this study, such as knowledge of oral health, perception of needs, barriers to access, and dissatisfaction. in regard to dental care, could play an important role in explaining disparities in dental care as people age, "said Bei Wu, Ph.D., Dean of the Dean in Global Health at NYU College of Nursing Rory Meyers and co-director of NYU's Aging Incubator, as well as the lead author of the study.