abstract: 'Background. National data indicate that working-aged adults (20-64

  years) are more likely to report financial barriers to receiving needed

  oral health care relative to other age groups. The aim of this study was

  to examine the burden of untreated caries (UC) and its association with

  reporting an unmet oral health care need among working-aged adults.

  Methods. The authors used National Health and Nutrition Examination

  Survey data from 2011 through 2016 for 10,286 dentate adults to examine

  the prevalence of mild to moderate (1-3 affected teeth) and severe (>= 4

  affected teeth) UC. The authors used multivariable logistic regression

  to identify factors that were associated with reporting an unmet oral

  health care need.

  Results. Low-income adults had mild to moderate UC (26.2\%) 2 times more

  frequently and severe UC (13.2\%) 3 times more frequently than

  higher-income adults. After controlling for covariates, the variables

  most strongly associated with reporting an unmet oral health care need

  were UC, low income, fair or poor general health, smoking, and no

  private health insurance. The model-adjusted prevalence of reporting an

  unmet oral health care need among low-income adults with mild to

  moderate and severe UC were 35.7\% and 45.1\%, respectively.

  Conclusions. The burden of UC among low-income adults is high;

  prevalence was approximately 40\% with approximately 3 affected teeth

  per person on average. Reporting an unmet oral health care need appears

  to be capturing primarily differences in UC, health, and financial

  access to oral health care.

  Practical Implications. Data on self-reported unmet oral health care

  need can have utility as a surveillance tool for monitoring UC and

  targeting resources to decrease UC among low-income adults.'
affiliation: 'Thornton-Evans, G (Corresponding Author), Ctr Dis Control \& Prevent,
  Div Oral Hlth, 4770 Buford Hwy,MS S107-8, Atlanta, GA 30341 USA.

  Williams, Shanele; Griffin, Susan O.; Thornton-Evans, Gina, Ctr Dis Control \& Prevent,
  Div Oral Hlth, 4770 Buford Hwy,MS S107-8, Atlanta, GA 30341 USA.

  Williams, Shanele, LECOM Sch Dent Med, Simulat Clin, Bradenton, FL USA.

  Wei, Liang, DB Consulting Grp, Atlanta, GA USA.'
author: Williams, Shanele and Wei, Liang and Griffin, Susan O. and Thornton-Evans,
  Gina
author-email: gdt4@cdc.gov
author_list:
- family: Williams
  given: Shanele
- family: Wei
  given: Liang
- family: Griffin
  given: Susan O.
- family: Thornton-Evans
  given: Gina
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1016/j.adaj.2020.09.019
eissn: 1943-4723
files: []
issn: 0002-8177
journal: JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION
keywords: 'National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; untreated caries;

  self-reported oral health care need; unmet dental care need; oral health

  surveillance tool; oral health care for working-aged adults'
keywords-plus: DENTAL-CARE; EMERGENCY-DEPARTMENTS; VISITS; POPULATION
language: English
month: JAN
number: '1'
number-of-cited-references: '28'
pages: 55-64
papis_id: 849f878956f05862125824e2f698494d
ref: Williams2021untreatedcaries
times-cited: '11'
title: Untreated caries among US working-aged adults and association with reporting
  need for oral health care
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000605345700017
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '1'
volume: '152'
web-of-science-categories: Dentistry, Oral Surgery \& Medicine
year: '2021'