ArticleBMC oral health2025
Dental treatment affordability and oral outcomes among U.S. adults: NHANES 2015-2018.
Article in BMC oral health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Digital Access for Screens and Smiles: Telehealth Use and Dental Care Access in the U.S.Clinics and practice · 2026Article
- Oral Health Care in the United States.Dentistry journal · 2026Review
- Oral health payment systems around the world: structures, challenges, and trends, a scoping review.BMC oral health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite the increase in dental care utilization in the U.S., access to dental care is limited by many barriers, particularly financial ones. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the affordability of dental treatment and oral health outcomes.
methodsThis cross-sectional study utilized 2015–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data (NHANES). The key outcomes measured included the number of decayed teeth, missed teeth due to caries, and filled teeth (DMFT), the number of untreated teeth with dental decay and missing teeth, the presence of root caries, and the affordability of dental care as the main predictor. Descriptive analyses, negative binomial analyses for count outcomes, and logistic regression for binary outcomes were conducted. The analyses were adjusted for the NHANES sampling weights.
resultsThe study included 11,566 participants, 14.17% of whom reported being unable to afford dental treatment. Among those who could not afford dental treatment, the mean ratio was 3.27 (95% CI: 2.72–3.95; p < 0.01) for untreated dental decay, along with a higher DMFT (mean ratio 1.24; 95% CI: 1.18–1.31; p < 0.01) compared with those who could afford treatment. The odds of having root caries were significantly greater (odds ratio 4.46; 95% CI: 3.53–5.64; p < 0.01) among those unable to afford dental care than among those who could afford treatment.
conclusionIndividuals who cannot afford dental care experienced significantly higher ratios of untreated dental decay and other oral health outcomes. The findings highlight the necessity for targeted interventions to address financial barriers and improve access to dental services.
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