This surveillance report of the oral health of Americans was just released. It is stuffed with statistics, tables, and graphics that compare 1999–2004 to 2011–2016. It contains no information on dental fluorosis, fluoride, or fluoridation.

PAGE 13: Conclusion and Comment

• … during 2011–2016, about 1 in 4 working-age adults and 1 in 6 older adults had untreated tooth decay.These proportions reflect no detectable changes since 1999–2004. Differences in the prevalence of untreated decay by race or ethnicity, poverty, education, and smoking also persisted through 2011–2016. Among working-age adults, no decreases in the mean number of teeth with untreated decay or increases in filled teeth were detected. Among older adults, the mean number of filled teeth did increase by about one tooth overall, and increases were significant for males, females, non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, and former smokers. By poverty level, having more filled teeth was only significant for those who were not-poor.

… The findings in this report indicate that the improvement in children’s oral health status was not experienced by working-age and older adults.

PAGE 4. Children Aged 6 to 8 Years

• The prevalence of caries among children aged 6–8 years was 52%, with no changes detected overall or across sociodemographic groups since 1999–2004 (Table 5).

• During 2011–2016, prevalence of caries and untreated decay was higher among Mexican American (caries: 73%, untreated decay: 20%), non-Hispanic black (54%, 22%), and poor and near-poor combined (62%, 22%) children compared with non-Hispanic white (44%, 13%) and not-poor (40%, 11%) children (Tables 5 and 6).

PAGE 5. Children Aged 6–11 Years

• Prevalence of caries among children aged 6–11 years decreased from 21% during 1999–2004 to 17% during 2011–2016 (Table 9). Decreases occurred across all sociodemographic groups, except for younger children (aged 6–8 years), non-Hispanic black children, and poor and near-poor combined children.

• During 2011–2016, Mexican American (8%), non-Hispanic black (7%), and poor children (8%) had higher prevalence of untreated tooth decay than non-Hispanic white (4%) and not-poor (4%) children.

PAGE 5. Adolescents Aged 12–19 Years

• Prevalence of caries among adolescents aged 12–19 years was 57%, with no detectable change since 1999–2004 (59%) (Table 14). Prevalence declined by 6 percentage points among female and not-poor adolescents. During 2011–2016, prevalence was higher among Mexican American (69%) and poor and near-poor combined (65%) adolescents than among non-Hispanic white (54%) and not-poor (49%) adolescents.

• During 2011–2016, prevalence of untreated decay was higher among non-Hispanic black (20%) and Mexican American (21%) adolescents than among non-Hispanic white (16%) adolescents. It was twice as high among poor and near-poor combined (22%) adolescents than among not-poor adolescents (11%).

PAGE 6. Dental Sealants

• Nearly half of children aged 6–11 years (42%) and adolescents aged 12–19 years (48%) had dental sealants on permanent teeth, reflecting more than a 10 percentage point increase since 1999–2004. The largest increases—17 percentage points or more—were found among those who were Mexican American, near-poor, and poor.

PAGE 7. Dental Caries Among Adults and Older Adults

• Similar to 1999–2004, about 1 in 4 adults aged 20–64 years and 1 in 6 older adults aged 65 years or older had untreated tooth decay in 2011–2016.

PAGE 7-8. Adults Aged 20–64 Years

• The prevalence of dental caries among adults aged 20–64 years was 90%, which is a slight decrease from 92% during 1999–2004 (Table 25).

• During 2011–2016, the prevalence of untreated decay was almost 40% to 50% among adults who were non-Hispanic black, Mexican American, or poor and near-poor combined; who had a high school education or lower; and who were current smokers. Prevalence among these groups was about twice that of adults who were non-Hispanic white or not-poor, who had more than a high school education, and who had never smoked. Prevalence of untreated decay was higher among younger adults aged 20–34 years (29%) than among adults aged 35–49 years (26%) or 50–64 years (22%).

• About 30%–40% of working-age or older adults who were non-Hispanic black, Mexican American, or poor; who had less than a high school education; and who were current smokers had untreated tooth decay. This was about 2 times the prevalence among adults who were non-Hispanic white or not-poor, who had more than a high school education, and who had never smoked.

PAGE 8: Older Adults Aged 65 Years or Older.

The prevalence of dental caries among adults aged 65 years or older was 96%, showing an overall increase of 3 percentage points since 1999–2004 (Table 29). For most sociodemographic groups, increases in caries prevalence ranged from 3 to 5 percentage points. No group experienced a statistically significant decrease. During 2011–2016, prevalence among older adults who were non-Hispanic white or not-poor, who had more than a high school education, and who were former smokers or never smoked ranged from 96% to 98%, which is higher than estimates of 85% to 95% for their respective counterparts within each sociodemographic characteristic. The estimates of prevalence across all sociodemographic groups were at or above 85%.

PAGE 9: Edentulism and Tooth Retention. Adults Aged 20–64 Years

• About 1 in 6 older adults (17%) had lost all of their teeth—a decrease of 10 percentage points compared to 1999–2004. Among older adults who were current smokers, 43% had lost all of their teeth, which is more than 3 times the prevalence among those who never smoked (12%).

See stand-alone Infographics and Tables

*Read the full report at http://fluoridealert.org/wp-content/uploads/cdc.oral-health-surveillance-report-2019.pdf