Dental Health Ranked by State
From ExpressDentist.com, December, 2021
National dental provider Express Dentist has ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on their dental health. The comprehensive study examined 25 indicators of dental health, including percentage of adults who visit the dentist and number of dentists per 100,000 people.
Connecticut has the best dental health, followed by the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Hawaii and New Jersey. Among other factors, residents in these states report lower levels of dental pain in the last 12 months than those elsewhere in the United States.
Arkansas has the worst dental health, followed by West Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. These states have higher numbers of residents taking days off work for dental pain, which suggests that poor dental health can have a direct impact on economic productivity.
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| State |
Hawaii |
| Rank |
4 |
| Total score out of 100 |
78 |
| Number of dentists per 100,000 people |
4 |
| Employment level in dentists |
2 |
| Percentage of all adults who reported visiting a dentist in the past year |
4 |
| Percentage of young adults (ages 18-44) who visited a dentist in the past year |
3 |
| Percentage of adults aged 65 or older who reported having all teeth removed due to decay or gum disease |
4 |
| Medicaid Adult Dental Benefits |
2 |
| Water Fluoridation |
1 |
| Reason for not visiting a dentist among those without a visit in the past 12 months – Cost |
4 |
| Percentage of adults who reported smoking at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and currently smoke daily or some days |
3 |
| Percentage of children ages 1-17 who had one or more preventive dental care visits in the past 12 months |
4 |
| Poor overall condition of mouth and teeth among all income levels |
4 |
| Poor overall condition of mouth and teeth among low income level |
3 |
| Very good overall condition of mouth and teeth among all income levels |
3 |
| Life in general is very often less satisfying due to condition of mouth and teeth among all income levels |
4 |
| Life in general is very often less satisfying due to condition of mouth and teeth among low-income level |
3 |
| Life in general is never less satisfying due to condition of mouth and teeth among high-income level |
2 |
| Appearance of mouth and teeth affect ability to interview for a job among all income levels |
4 |
| Appearance of mouth and teeth affect ability to interview for a job among low-income level |
2 |
| Experienced dry mouth very often in the last 12 months due to condition of mouth and teeth among all income groups |
4 |
| Experienced difficulty biting/chewing very often in the last 12 months due to condition of mouth and teeth among all income groups |
3 |
| Experienced pain very often in the last 12 months due to condition of mouth and teeth among all income groups |
3 |
| Took days off very often in the last 12 months due to condition of mouth and teeth among all income groups |
3 |
| Strongly agree with I need to see the dentist twice a year among all income groups |
3 |
| Reason for not visiting a dentist among those without a visit in the last 12 months – Trouble finding a dentist |
3 |
| Reason for not visiting a dentist among those without a visit in the last 12 months – Afraid of dentist |
3 |
|