MANY young people are avoiding the dentist. And that’s a bad idea.
“Young adults, aged 18 to 35 years old, were the most likely to report not having visited a dentist within the past 12 months,” says Yau-Hua Yu, an Associate Professor of Periodontology at the School of Dental Medicine, Tufts University. “This is very troubling.”
Dr. Yu is the author of a study showing that nearly one in three young adults skipped visits to the dentist in the past year.
Her earlier research suggested that poor oral health is linked to shortened life expectancy and other negative health outcomes.
For the current study, published recently in Frontiers in Oral Health, Dr. Yu analyzed health, demographic, and dental-care data from nearly 128,000 adults in the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us program. This program is one of the world’s largest biomedical databases.
The study is the first to compare people’s social and economic circumstances, access to dental care, and self-reported health challenges across different ages.
It builds on past research about cost and access barriers to dental care, but it provides new insights by showing that young adults are especially likely to miss out on care.
Dr. Yu used data from the Health’s All of Us program to examine how physical challenges and mental health issues reported by individuals from different socioeconomic backgrounds varied depending on three factors: whether they had visited a dentist in the past year, their income level, and their age.
She found that nearly one in three young adults skipped visits to the dentist in the past year.
“Across all ages, people generally managed to see a doctor,” says Dr. Yu. “But those who skipped dental care most often pointed to cost and lack of insurance coverage.”
Her research shows that young adults who missed dental visits were also more likely to skip medical care.
Her findings show the urgent need to integrate dental care into overall health care.
“When dental care is rooted in trusted community spaces, it feels more familiar and supportive,” Dr. Yu says. “That lowers the barriers of fear, inconvenience, and cost uncertainty that may keep some young adults away, and it helps them shift from waiting until there’s an emergency to hopefully seeking regular, preventive care.”
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Dr. Joseph D. Lim, Ed. D., is the former Associate Dean of the College of Dentistry, University of the East; former Dean, College of Dentistry, National University; Past President and Honorary Fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy; Honorary Fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists; Honorary Life Member of the Thai Association of Dental Implantology; and Founding Chairman of the Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515.
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Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI, graduated Doctor of Dental Medicine, University of the Philippines, College of Dentistry, Manila, 2011; Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management, De la Salle University, Manila, 2002; and Master of Science (MSc.) in Oral Implantology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, 2019. He is an Associate Professor; Fellow, International Congress of Oral Implantologists; and Fellow, Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail limdentalcenter@gmail.com/PN
