USA - Tennessee dental health among nation's worst
Tennessee dental health among nation's worst
by Mariann Martin
Tennessee's dental health can be measured in so many ways:
Twenty percent of adults ages 18-64 have lost six or more teeth because of decay, infection or gum disease, twice the national median, according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, a health care advocacy group.
Only 66 percent visited a dentist or dental clinic in 2010, according to a Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More than 53,000 visited a hospital emergency room for dental care in 2009, with about 24,000 of those visits for a preventable dental condition, according to a Pew Center study.
Alabama ranks even lower in most measurements than Tennessee. Georgia has better numbers but still ranks about 25th in the nation in many factors.
And the numbers are not just about teeth -- gum disease has been linked to heart and lung disease, diabetes and low-birth-weight babies. Tooth decay and infection cause pain, missed work and even death.
"Dental decay and infections cause all kinds of problems," said Stan Brock, founder of Knoxville-based Remote Area Medical Volunteer Corps. "We are doing full-mouth extractions for people in their 20s. People don't understand the desperate need for dental care in this country."
Not one of the measures is good, and all are getting worse for Tennessee adults.
Between 2005 and 2009, the number of emergency room visits for preventable dental care increased by 7 percent, the Pew study found.
The number of people who had visited a dentist or dental clinic in the last year dropped nearly 10 percent from 2005 to 2010, and the number of people who lost at least one permanent tooth increased to nearly 55 percent of the population -- putting Tennessee's ranking at 47th in the nation, according to the behavioral risk survey.................
No wonder Tennessee is chucking out fluoridation, it doesn't work.
by Mariann Martin
Tennessee's dental health can be measured in so many ways:
Twenty percent of adults ages 18-64 have lost six or more teeth because of decay, infection or gum disease, twice the national median, according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, a health care advocacy group.
Only 66 percent visited a dentist or dental clinic in 2010, according to a Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More than 53,000 visited a hospital emergency room for dental care in 2009, with about 24,000 of those visits for a preventable dental condition, according to a Pew Center study.
Alabama ranks even lower in most measurements than Tennessee. Georgia has better numbers but still ranks about 25th in the nation in many factors.
And the numbers are not just about teeth -- gum disease has been linked to heart and lung disease, diabetes and low-birth-weight babies. Tooth decay and infection cause pain, missed work and even death.
"Dental decay and infections cause all kinds of problems," said Stan Brock, founder of Knoxville-based Remote Area Medical Volunteer Corps. "We are doing full-mouth extractions for people in their 20s. People don't understand the desperate need for dental care in this country."
Not one of the measures is good, and all are getting worse for Tennessee adults.
Between 2005 and 2009, the number of emergency room visits for preventable dental care increased by 7 percent, the Pew study found.
The number of people who had visited a dentist or dental clinic in the last year dropped nearly 10 percent from 2005 to 2010, and the number of people who lost at least one permanent tooth increased to nearly 55 percent of the population -- putting Tennessee's ranking at 47th in the nation, according to the behavioral risk survey.................
No wonder Tennessee is chucking out fluoridation, it doesn't work.
posted by Bill at
9:14 AM
1 Comments:
gum disease is linked to things like heart disease that's dang scary I wonder why so many people don't brush like their supposed to knowing there is a risk for heart and lung disease
By
UAOMS, at 07 June, 2012
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