So you think you know your teeth?
Well, the facts about teeth and dental care in this infographic just might surprise you.
We’ve compiled the latest oral health statistics in the United States. We also share some interesting dentistry facts that should make you appreciate your teeth even more.
All of these statistics were collected from authoritative sources such as the CDC, the American Dental Association, and the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, to name a few, besides several published studies. You can follow the links referenced in this infographic for more information on the subject.
We’ve organized these dental statistics and dental history facts into a visual chart to give you the most in-depth and concise information possible. These stats will help you understand the importance of dental care and thus lower your risk of dental disease.
Check out the infographic below to challenge yourself and grow your dental health awareness.
Oral Health Statistics
Facts About Oral Health in the United States
- 30% of people in the United States worry that they have bad breath (
health.harvard.edu) - 87% of folks agree that bad oral health can negatively impact your life (statista.com)
- 75% of adults plan to visit their dentist within a year (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- 50% of American adults correctly answered all eight questions on a test about oral health (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- 95% of adults feel it’s important to keep their mouth healthy and 93% agree that seeing a dentist regularly can help keep them healthy (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- 1 minute 52 seconds = the average time people brush their teeth (deltadental.com)
- 70% of Americans brush their teeth two times per day (deltadental.com)
- 23% of people admit that they’ve skipped two or more days of brushing (deltadental.com
- 40% of non-Hispanic black adults report never flossing (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- 38% of Hispanic adults in the United States report never flossing (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- 44% admit to lying to their dentist about flossing habit (ada.org)
- 30% of non-Hispanic white adults in the United States report never flossing (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Low income earners are more likely to never floss (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- 20% of adults only floss when they feel something stuck in their teeth (ada.org)
- 16% of adults floss at least once every day (ada.org)
- ⅓ of Americans floss daily, another ⅓ floss occasionally, and ⅓ never floss (usnews.com)
- 60% of Americans brush both at bedtime and first thing in the morning (deltadental.com
- Most popular place to brush? 91% of Americans brush over their bathroom sink (deltadental.com
- Too time consuming = the biggest reason people don’t floss (ada.org)
- $129 billion = amount Americans have spent on dental care (static.usafacts.org)
Dental Health Stats by Age and Gender
- 96% of adults age 65 and up have experienced cavities (CDC.gov)
- About 1 in 5 adults currently have untreated decay (CDC.gov)
- 2 in 3 older adults have gum disease (CDC.gov)
- 1 in 5 older adults have lost all their teeth (CDC.gov)
- People aged 75 and older are less likely to floss than younger adults (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- Within the past year, an estimated 64% of adults (ages 18-64) visited the dentist (CDC.gov)
- Within the past year, nearly 63% of senior citizens (ages 65+) went to the dentist (CDC.gov)
- 37% of adults aged 18-24 admit to skipping two or more days of brushing (deltadental.com)
- Younger adults (ages 18-44) are two times more likely to brush their teeth in the shower (deltadental.com)
- 1 in 7 teens (ages 12-19) have at least one tooth with a cavity (CDC.gov)
- 1 in 5 children has at least one tooth with a cavity (CDC.gov)
- 40% of kids have dental decay before they reach kindergarten (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- Kids in low-income families face at double the risk of tooth decay compared with those in higher income families (CDC.gov)
- Dental sealants on kids’ teeth can prevent around 80% of cavities (CDC.gov)
Dental Statistics by State
- On a scale of 0 to 10 with 10 representing ideal oral health (ADA.org):
- The national score for the United States in 2015 was 7.9
- Illinois has the best score at 8.6
- Alaska has the lowest score at 7.2
- Dental coverage rates are highest (57.1%) in the New England area and lowest (45.6%) in both the South Atlantic and East South Central regions (CDC.gov)
- In Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, only 14.3% of people with dental coverage didn’t see a dentist in the past year (CDC.gov)
Dental Diseases in the US Population
- 1 in 2 American adults over the age of 30 has gum disease (nih.gov)
- 70% of adults aged 65 and older have gum disease (nih.gov)
- Having gum disease increases the risk of serious cardiovascular events by 2 to 3 times (health.harvard.edu)
- 65,000,000 = the number of American adults with some form of gum disease (CDC.gov)
- Of all the people with gum disease, 38.4% are women and 56.4% are men (CDC.gov)
- 7.8% of adults with gum disease have a severe case of it (ada.org)
- 1 in 3 low-income adults avoid smiling because of how their teeth look (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- 17% of low-income adults have difficulty doing normal activities such as eating because of poor oral health (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- 1 in 4 low-income adults have avoided social activities due to how their smile looks (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- 14% of all adults have missed out on some social events due to an unhealthy smile (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- The incidence of gum disease increases as adults age (CDC.gov)
- 30,000 = the number of Americans diagnosed each year with oral or pharyngeal cancer (nidcr.nih.gov)
- 10,170 = the highest number of oral cancer-related deaths in one year (2016) (statista.com)
- 90% of cases of bad breath are linked to problems with oral health such as gum disease, tongue coating, and infections (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- 83% of American adults rated their oral health as more important than diet, exercise, and mental health (statista.com)
- In the United States, the incidence of toothlessness is higher in certain groups (CDC.gov):
- 13.5% of low-income earners
- 12.2% of those living below the poverty line
- 24.8% of those aged 75 and older
- 15.3% of those who never graduated high school
Usage of Dental Supplies Statistics
- 118.16 million = how many Americans used toothbrushes with medium bristles in 2019 (statista.com)
- 66.11 million = the number of people in 2019 that used gel toothpaste (statista.com)
- 137.59 = how many people used regular toothpaste in 2019 (statista.com)
- 4.5 million = the number of people who used a power toothbrush at least 5 times in 2019 (statista.com)
- 72.6 million = how many people used toothpaste at least 4 times a day in 2019 (statista.com)
- 18.04 million = how many people used mouthwash at least 14 times per week in 2019 (statista.com)
- 209.54 million = how many people used manual toothbrushes in 2019 (statista.com)
- 16.07 million = how many people used a denture cleaner 8 or more times per week in 2019 (statista.com)
- 16.07 million = how many people used a denture cleaner 8 or more times per week in 2019 (statista.com)
- $30.07 million = the amount spent on brand name dental floss in 2019 (statista.com)
- 13.58 million = the number of people who used store brand floss, flossers, or floss picks at least 8 times per week in 2019 (statista.com)
- 201.08 million = the number of Americans who used mouthwash in 2019 (statista.com)
- 26.26 million = how many Americans used a manual toothbrush at least 5 times per day in 2019 (statista.com)
- 1.94 million = how many Americans spent $250 or more on dental products (statista.com)
- 38% of Americans prefer to buy natural or organic toothpaste (statista.com)
- 32.29 = how many Americans used tooth whiteners over the course of 2019 (statista.com)
- $79.4 million = the amount in sales over the course of 2018 by leading tooth whitening brand Crest 3D White Whitestrips
- Toothpaste with 1000 – 1250 ppm of fluoride is more effective at reducing decay than toothpaste without fluoride (cochrane.org)
- 95% of toothpaste sales in the United States are fluoride-based toothpastes (ada.org)
Dentist Facts and Statistics
Facts About Dental Hygienists
- 150,000 = the number of registered dental hygienists in the United States (adha.org)
- 98% of those dental hygienists are female (adha.org)
- 2,000 hours = the amount of time dental hygienists spend studying in an accredited dental hygiene program (adha.org)
- 600 hours = the amount of time that dental hygiene students spend learning and practicing in a hands-on clinical setting (adha.org)
Facts About Dentists
- 200,419 = number of dentists in 2019 (ada.org)
- 33.4% of those dentists are female (ada.org)
- 69.4 = the average age at which dentists retire (ada.org)
- Amount of time required to become a dentist (bls.gov):
- 4 years for a bachelor’s degree or some other undergraduate education
- 4 years of study at an accredited dental school
- 2-6 years of training and residency, if a dentist goes on to pursue certification in an area of dental specialty
Dental Facts About Access to Dental Health Professionals
- In 2019, more than 53 million Americans lived in places with a dental health professional shortage, making them less likely to receive needed dental care (CDC.gov)
- The Southeast United States has the lowest supply of dentists with only about 40-50 dentists per 100,000 residents (CDC.gov)
- Washington, D.C. has the most dentists with at least 103 dentists per 100,000 residents (CDC.gov)
- Cost = the #1 reason people don’t want to visit the dentist, according to 40.2% of people (ada.org)
- 32.7% of people think that they don’t need to see a dentist (ada.org)
- 14.1% don’t plan to see a dentist because they don’t have the time (ada.org)
Fun Dental Facts
Impress Your Friends with These Teeth Facts!
- 38.5 days = the total amount of time you’ll spend brushing your teeth throughout your life (mirror.co.uk)
- 5,300 gallons = about how much saliva you produce in a lifetime (mirror.co.uk)
- 1866 was the year that the first woman in America, Lucy Hobbs Taylor, received a dental degree (census.gov)
- The very first toothbrush with bristles (made from hog, horse, and badger hair) was made in China around 1498 (loc.gov)
- 1882 was the year that the first commercial dental floss was produced (theguardian.com)
- Tooth enamel is the strongest material in your body. (sciencedirect.com)
- 39% of males report never flossing while only 27% of females say so (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- 61% of Americans admit to cleaning between their teeth with their fingernails (ada.org)
- 40% use cards or folded paper to clean between their teeth (ada.org)
- 21% have used cutlery like forks to remove food and plaque from between teeth (ada.org)
- 21% say they use safety pins or strands of hair to floss (ada.org)
- 63% of those who admit to flossing in creative ways say that they knew doing so was dangerous (ada.org)
- 3 out of 4 Americans aren’t regularly changing out their toothbrush (adha.org)
Dental Fun Facts for Kids
- 51 million hours = the amount of time that kids miss from school each year because of a dental problems (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- In teens aged 14 to 17, dental decay is 4 times more common than asthma (CDC.gov)
- The act of chewing sugar-free gum for 20 minutes after each meal can help prevent tooth decay in kids and adults (ada.org)
