ODH, HPIO release dental Care data brief

Researchers at the Ohio Department of Health and the Health Policy Institute of Ohio have released a data brief, titled “Oral Health Findings from the Ohio Family Health Survey, 2008,” (pdf, 2 pages) examining dental care in Ohio, using data from the most recent Ohio Family Health Survey.

The report found that regardless of family income status, dental care was the most pressing unmet health care need for both adults and children.

Some of the findings include:

• 479,000 Ohio children (or 18.3 percent) were without dental insurance, compared to 111,000 children (4 percent) who were uninsured for medical care
• Even though low-income children (those in families earning less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or $41,300 for a family of four) had higher rates of dental coverage, they were less likely to have a dental visit in the past 12 months (68 percent of low-income children, compared to 81.5 percent of higher-income children)
• 3,433,000 (or 39.4 percent) of Ohio adults 18 and older reported having no dental coverage, compared to 1,232,000 (or 14.1 percent) of adults who reported being uninsured for medical care
• For adults, family income and job status are associated with a lack of dental coverage