Top 5 states with the best dental health

Top 5 states with the best dental health

The percentage of people who said they’ve been to the dentist in the past 12 months ranged from less than 56%, in Arkansas, up to more than 70%, in the three states.

For a look at the five states with the highest percentages of working-age adults who reported having seen a dentist in the previous 12 months, see the gallery above.

For data for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, see the table below.

Methods: The CDC breaks down data on dental visit data for people under 18, people ages 65 and older, and four age groups from 18 through 64.

We came up with a dental visit rate for working-age people by averaging the data for the age groups in that age range. One benefit of using that approach is that it filters out the effects of the aging of the population, or other population trends, in a given state.

The CDC includes what appear to be incomplete data for Mississippi.

The latest BRFSS figures for dental visits look a little different than the figures for some other health indicators, because the BRFSS team last asked about dental visits in 2022. The CDC did not include results for that question in the big batch of 2023 BRFSS data that was posted in September.

The relatively low dental visit rates included in the 2022 data may reflect any local COVID-related care restrictions or provider safety measures that were still in effect in 2022 in some communities.

Delta Dental founded when it surveyed about 1,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older earlier this year that 83% of the participants with health insurance and 58% of the participants without dental insurance had seen a dentist in 2023.

Preventive care and dental care costs: Guardian has estimated that plan members who’ve had regular preventive dental care over the previous four years ended up spending an average of $99 per year on care for basic procedures, such as fillings and periodontal scaling, compared with an average of $283 for patients who had not undergone regular preventive care, based on claims data.

Regular preventive care cuts the average cost for major procedures, such as root canals and crowns, to $68, from $148, Guardian reported.

About 58% of working adults with dental benefits visit the dentist at least twice a year for dental care. Only 25% of the working adults without dental benefits see dentists twice a year.

Dental care and overall health: Cigna found that getting preventive dental care for three consecutive years cut a typical plan member’s medical costs by about 12% over the five-year study period.

For plan members with diabetes, getting regular preventive dental care cut five-year medical spending by 18%.

Lower costs for the plan members who see dentists regularly could reflect two different factors:

  • Going to the dentist regularly may prevent or eliminate oral health problems that could hurt people’s overall health, according to Unum.
  • Workers who get regular dental care may also tend to be conscientious people who do many things to avoid threats to their health and take active steps to be healthy.
Adults Ages 18-64 Who Saw a Dentist in the Past Year
2018 2022 Change, in percentage points
Alabama 61.18% 57.98% -3.20
Alaska 70.40% 61.08% -9.32
Arizona 60.84% 58.66% -2.18
Arkansas 55.64% 55.14% -0.50
California 66.90% 65.68% -1.22
Colorado 66.66% 64.68% -1.98
Connecticut 76.22% 73.44% -2.78
Delaware 64.76% 62.04% -2.72
District of Columbia 74.38% 70.20% -4.18
Florida 63.92% 58.44% -5.48
Georgia 62.60% 59.62% -2.98
Hawaii 73.26% 69.32% -3.94
Idaho 65.36% 68.04% +2.68
Illinois 68.52% 64.76% -3.76
Indiana 64.46% 62.92% -1.54
Iowa 70.98% 67.52% -3.46
Kansas 67.52% 64.44% -3.08
Kentucky 63.78% 60.32% -3.46
Louisiana 57.68% 60.90% +3.22
Maine 64.98% 63.64% -1.34
Maryland 65.92% 66.00% +0.08
Massachusetts 73.94% 72.64% -1.30
Michigan 70.54% 68.10% -2.44
Minnesota 72.92% 66.64% -6.28
Mississippi 55.22% NA
Missouri 64.56% 60.78% -3.78
Montana 66.16% 62.90% -3.26
Nebraska 67.06% 64.42% -2.64
Nevada 65.52% 59.42% -6.10
New Hampshire 67.66% 68.12% +0.46
New Jersey 72.14% 67.64% -4.50
New Mexico 64.36% 60.58% -3.78
New York 70.12% 63.44% -6.68
North Carolina 66.02% 63.28% -2.74
North Dakota 67.78% 66.56% -1.22
Ohio 67.78% 63.32% -4.46
Oklahoma 59.86% 58.34% -1.52
Oregon 67.76% 64.62% -3.14
Pennsylvania 70.24% 67.66% -2.58
Puerto Rico 72.30% 66.10% -6.20
Rhode Island 72.14% 69.04% -3.10
South Carolina 61.94% 61.84% -0.10
South Dakota 67.90% 69.24% +1.34
Tennessee 58.42% 58.88% +0.46
Texas 60.90% 57.26% -3.64
Utah 71.86% 70.44% -1.42
Vermont 74.12% 67.44% -6.68
Virginia 71.50% 67.54% -3.96
Washington 68.56% 66.66% -1.90
West Virginia 55.92% 57.94% +2.02
Wisconsin 70.58% 66.38% -4.20
Wyoming 67.38% 64.18% -3.20
MEDIAN 67.22% 64.44% -2.78

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