Racial disparities in dentistry: 5 ADA findings

Racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in the country's dental workforce, according to an April 19 infographic report from the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute.

Five findings:

1. About 70 percent of U.S. dentists are white, 18 percent are Asian, 5.9 percent are Hispanic and 3.8 percent are Black.

2. SInce 2005, racial disparities in cost barriers to dental care have decreased among children, but widened for adults and seniors. For example, 11 percent of Hispanic children in the U.S. faced cost barriers to dental care in 2005, which narrowed to 6 percent in 2019. Among Hispanic adults, however, that figure rose from 16 percent in 2005 to 27 percent in 2019.

3. Sixty-three percent of Black dentists reported participating in Medicaid, compared to 39 percent of white dentists. About 50 percent of Hispanic dentists, Asian dentists and other races participate in Medicaid.

4. Dental school debt varies by race. In 2019, the average cost of educational debt at graduation was $314,360 for Black dentists, $286,427 for Hispanic dentists, $283,046 for white dentists, and $225,750 for Asian dentists.

5. White seniors in the U.S. were most likely to have visited the dentist in the last year (based on 2017-18 data) at 54.8 percent, compared to 28.8 percent of Black seniors.

To view more findings from the ADA, click here.

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