Susan A. Fisher?Owens|Inyang A. Isong|Mah J. Soobader|Stuart A. Gansky|Jane A. Weintraub|Larry J. Platt|Paul W. Newacheck
An examination of racial/ethnic disparities in children's oral health in the United States
University of California, San Francisco|Harvard University|Massachusetts General Hospital|University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|Lee University|Lee University
assess extent factors raceethnicity explain apparent racialethnic disparities childrens oral health oral health caredata 2007 national survey childrens health children 217 years n82020 outcomes included parental reports childs oral health status receiving preventive dental care delayed dental careunmet need modelbased surveydataanalysis examined racialethnic disparities controlling child family communitystate contextual factorsunadjusted results show large racialethnic oral health disparities compared nonhispanic white people hispanic nonhispanicblack people markedly likely reported fairpoor oral health odds ratios ors 95 confidence intervals 43 4046 22 2024 respectively lack preventive care ors 19 1820 14 1315 experience delayed careunmet need ors 15 1317 14 1315 adjusting child family communitystate factors reduced racialethnic disparities adjusted ors aors hispanics nonhispanic blacks attenuated fairpoor oral health 16 1518 12 1114 respectively adjustment eliminated disparities lacking preventive care aors 10 0911 11 1112 hispanics delayed careunmet need aor 10 among nonhispanic blacks adjustment reversed disparity delayed careunmet need aor 06 0607racialethnic disparities childrens oral health status access attributable largely socioeconomic health insurance factors efforts decrease disparities may efficacious targeted social economic factors associated minority racialethnic status may positive effects share similar social economic cultural characteristics