CareQuest Institute Releases New Data on Inequities in Oral Health Care.
CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® released new data on inequities in oral health care from the second annual State of Oral Health Equity in America survey in a webinar last week. According to the survey, 77 million adults in the US do not have dental insurance, and disparities in oral health exist for many populations, including people of color, low-income or uninsured people, and veterans.
The State of Oral Health Equity in America survey created by CareQuest Institute is a nationally representative survey of 5,682 adults to study knowledge, attitudes, experiences, and behaviors related to oral health.
“We created this survey to better understand the disparities in oral health,” said Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD, MBA, president and CEO of CareQuest Institute for Oral Health. “These newly released findings give additional insight into the many barriers facing historically underserved populations and will help inform our ongoing work to address inequities in our oral health care system.”
This new data was released during a virtual discussion, “How’s America’s Oral Health? Barriers to Care, Common Problems, and Ongoing Inequity,” based on the survey results and attended by more than 300 people.
“This survey is the most comprehensive of its kind and the results validate the inequities we already knew exist in oral health,” said Ifetayo B. Johnson, Executive Director of The Oral Health Progress and Equity Network (OPEN), who was a panelist during the virtual discussion. “We look forward to working with CareQuest Institute and our other partners to use those findings to implement systemic change and break the cycle of oral health disparities.”