Percent Who Have Not Lost Teeth Due to Decay or Gum Disease by Year, Adults Aged 18+, New Mexico and U.S., 2012 to 2018
Indicator Report Data View Options
Why Is This Important?
Tooth retention in adults is a good marker for oral health, which is important to overall health and quality of life. Oral health affects our ability to speak, smile, eat, and show emotions. It also affects self-esteem and attendance at work. Retaining teeth throughout life supports a healthy jaw bone structure resulting in healthier gums and lessening the chance of tooth decay or periodontal (gum) disease. Tooth retention also supports facial structure and appearance, as well, while loss of teeth impacts the facial aging process. Tooth retention helps the aging population maintain their chewing performance, enabling them to continue eating a wider variety of healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables. Chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease can both contribute to and be affected by the tooth decay and periodontal disease that can lead to tooth loss. Research recommends that daily brushing, flossing and annual prophylactic dental visits lead to better tooth retention.
Definition
The percentage of adults who have had no teeth extracted due to decay or gum disease Question text: How many of your permanent teeth have been removed because of tooth decay or gum disease? Include teeth lost to infection, but do not include teeth lost for other reasons, such as injury or orthodontics. (Question asked in even-numbered years.)
Data Sources
- Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Data, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, together with New Mexico Department of Health, Injury and Behavioral Epidemiology Bureau.
(https://www.nmhealth.org/about/erd/ibeb/brfss/) - U.S. data source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Prevalence and Trends Data.
(https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/brfssprevalence)
How the Measure is Calculated
| Numerator: | The number of survey respondents who reported that they have had no teeth extracted due to decay or gum disease |
| Denominator: | The total number of survey respondents who answered the question |
Data Issues
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is an ongoing survey of adults about health-related behaviors, health conditions, and preventive services. Data are collected in all 50 states, D.C., and U.S. territories. The survey is conducted using scientific telephone survey methods for landline and cellular phones (with cellular since 2011). The landline phone portion of the survey excludes adults living in group quarters such as college dormitories, nursing homes, military barracks, and prisons. The cellular phone portion of the survey includes adult students living in college dormitories but excludes other group quarters. Beginning with 2011, the BRFSS updated its surveillance methods by adding in calls to cell phones and changing its weighting methods. These changes improve BRFSS' ability to take into account the increasing proportion of U.S. adults using only cellular telephones. Because of these changes, the data from years prior to 2011 are not directly comparable to data from 2011 and later. Please see the [[a href="/nmibis-view/docs/Query/BRFSS/BRFSS_fact_sheet_Aug2012.pdf BRFSS Method Change Factsheet]]. Responses have been weighted to reflect the New Mexico adult population by age, sex, ethnicity, geographic region, marital status, education level, home ownership and type of phone. The "missing" and "don't know" responses are not included when calculating a percentage.Health Topic Pages Related to: Oral Health - Tooth Retention
Community Health Resources and Links
- Healthy People 2030 Website
- The Guide to Community Preventive Services
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
- County Health Rankings
- Kaiser Family Foundation's StateHealthFacts
Medical literature can be queried at the PubMed website.