Maintaining oral health for a lifetime

Older Adults Keeping Teeth Longer, Data Indicate.

The ADA News (1/7, Manchir) reports the cover story of the January issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association suggests that “older Americans are keeping their teeth longer.” After examining data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, the authors of “Tooth Loss Among Older Adults According to Poverty Status in the United States From 1999 Through 2004 and 2009 Through 2014” found that “complete tooth loss has decreased by more than 75 percent for adults 65-74 years of age over the past five decades.” However, the authors found “recent increases in retaining natural teeth generally were significant only for those not living in poverty.”

Each month, JADA articles are published online at JADA.ADA.org in advance of the print publication.