Americans still aren’t seeing their dentist as much as they would like. For a second year, dentists topped the list of health practitioners Americans want to see more often, Delta Dental reports. According to its survey, 42% of dentists don’t see a dentist as often as they would like, beating out their primary care doctor (29%), dermatologist (23%), and ophthalmologist (17%).
Delta Dental suggests that this desire to see the dentist more is because 85% of Americans believe oral health is very or extremely important to their overall health. Also, only 25% of Americans are extremely satisfied with the health of their mouth, teeth, and gums, and 49% are somewhat satisfied. Only 15% rated their oral health as excellent.
“Recognizing the importance of seeing a dentist is a good start,” said Bill Kohn, DDS, chair of the Delta Dental Plans Association Dental Science Committee. “Why not take that next step and make an appointment for a checkup?”
The survey also found that:
- 58% visit the dentist at least one time per year, down from 62% in 2016
- 52% made their most recent appointment to get a regular checkup
- 17% made their most recent appointment to have a procedure performed
- 15% made their appointment because they were experiencing mouth pain
The Adult’s Oral Health & Well Being Survey was conducted between December 13 and December 28, 2017, among 1,008 nationally representative Americans age 18 and older with a margin of error of ±3.1%.
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