No Medical or Dental Visits in Past Year

One in five Americans have not visited a doctor or a dentist in the past year, according to the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). In an examination of trends in medical and dental visits, the MEPS report analyzes data from 2003 through 2018. Over those 15 years, there has been a slight increase in the percentage of Americans who did not see a dentist or a doctor in a year's time, with the figure rising from 18.9 percent in 2003 to 19.8 percent in 2018. 

Distribution of the population by dental and/or medical visits, 2018

37.1%: both medical and dental visits

34.4%: medical visits only

19.8%: neither dental nor medical visits

  8.6%: dental visits only

Males (24.1 percent) are more likely than females (15.8 percent) to have had neither a dental or a medical visit in the past year. By race and Hispanic origin, Hispanics are most likely not to have seen a doctor or dentist (31.0 percent), followed by non-Hispanic Blacks (25.3 percent), non-Hispanic others (23.9 percent), and non-Hispanic whites (14.6 percent). Note: The category non-Hispanic other includes Asians and American Indians. 

More than one in four people aged 18 to 64 (25.3 percent) did not have a medical or dental visit in 2018 compared with only 6.4 percent of those aged 65 or older. Among preschoolers (aged 0 to 5), the figure is 11.5 percent. Among school-aged children (aged 6 to 17), a larger 16.8 percent had not seen a doctor or dentist in the past 12 months. 

Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, Trends in the Number and Percentage of the Population with Any Dental or Medical Visits, 2003–2018

Dental Care Makes a Difference

Toothlessness is associated with being old, but maybe not for much longer. The percentage of people aged 65 or older who have lost all their teeth has plunged over the past two decades, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. In 2000, a substantial 30 percent of people aged 65 or older had lost all their teeth. By 2017–18, just 13 percent were toothless. Behind the decline is more and better dental care.

Most Americans aged 18 or older see a dentist at least once a year, and nearly half see a dentist every six months. Because dental care is expensive, however, there are big differences in the frequency of dental visits by socioeconomic status such as educational attainment...

Percent with a dental visit in the past year (and past 6 months) by education

47% (27%) of those who did not graduate from high school

55% (37%) of high school graduates 

65% (48%) of those with some college/associate's degree

79% (64%) of those with a bachelor's degree 

A lack of dental care can have serious consequences. Among people aged 65 or older without a high school diploma, fully 32 percent have lost all their teeth. Among those with more education, only 10 percent are toothless. 

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Prevalence of Tooth Loss among Older Adults: United States, 2015–2018

Last Dental Visit More than Five Years Ago

A substantial 13 percent of Americans aged 18 or older have not been to a dentist in more than five years. Because dental care often requires hefty out-of-pocket spending, low-income adults are more likely than the affluent to skip dental checkups. Among adults with family incomes below $35,000, 23 percent have not seen a dentist in five-plus years versus only 3 percent of those with family incomes of $100,000 or more. The dental care gap by educational attainment is even larger...

More than 5 years since last dental visit
30% of those without a high school diploma
19% of those with a high school diploma only
12% of those with some college but no bachelor's degree
4% of those with a bachelor's degree or more education

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Tables of Summary Health Statistics

Bad Teeth

What would dentists find if they traveled around the country and examined the dental health of a representative sample of Americans? They would find a lot of cavities.

That's what happened when, at the behest of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a team of dentists in mobile examination centers took a look inside the mouths of Americans aged 20 or older. The finding: 27 percent of adults have untreated tooth decay.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Dental Caries and Tooth Loss in Adults in the United States, 2011-2012

The Toothless Elderly

Among Americans aged 65 or older, 23 percent have lost all their natural teeth. The percentage peaks at 58 percent among poor whites in nonmetropolitan areas of the South Atlantic states.

Source: CDC, Health Data Interactive