Trends in the Number and Percentage of the Population with Any Dental or Medical Visits, 2003–2018

Excerpt

In 2000, the first-ever Surgeon General’s Report on oral health was released. Oral Health in America provided numerous examples of the connection between oral health and overall health, concluding that “oral health means much more than healthy teeth” and “is essential to the general health and well-being of all Americans.” Since the publication of that report, there has been a concerted effort to better integrate oral health and overall health across the country. Full integration is multidirectional, incorporating oral health into different aspects of overall health (medical care, behavioral health, pharmacy care, etc.) and incorporating overall health concepts into dental practices. For example, the American Dental Association, the nation’s largest dentist organization, has estimated that healthcare costs in the United States could be reduced by over $100 million each year through screening for chronic diseases in dental offices.

To provide a foundation for multidirectional integration of oral health and overall health, we examined the number and percentage of persons with any dental and medical visits using 2003 to 2018 data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey-Household Component. A dental visit included any reported visit in the year to any type of dental provider, including general dentists, specialists, hygienists, and technicians. A medical visit included any reported visit in the year to any type of physician or nonphysician provider in an office-based, inpatient, outpatient, emergency room, or home health setting.