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Dental visits among smoking and nonsmoking US adults in 2000.

Drilea SK, Reid BC, Li CH, Hyman JJ, Manski RJ

Health Research Analyst 4, NIDCR/CDC Data Resource Center, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. susan.drilea@ngc.com

OBJECTIVE: To examine dental visits among smoking and nonsmoking adults in a nationally representative sample. METHODS: Logistic regression analysis was performed, using a sample of 15,250 US adults from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component 2000. RESULTS: Current smokers were less likely to report dental visits (32.9%) than were nonsmokers (45.0%) during 2000. Differences were statistically significant even after accounting for other predictors of dental care use. CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to optimize the oral health of smokers and reduce serious oral diseases may benefit from addressing this lower use of dental services among smokers.

Published 5 October 2005 in Am J Health Behav, 29(5): 462-71.
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