The Oklahoma Oral Health Coalition (OOHC) recently announced that, when compared to the nation’s performance on 13 key oral health indicators, Oklahoma scores a “D” on its oral health report card. When compared to the state’s 2020 report card, this year’s findings indicate an improvement in the oral health of Oklahoma adults but a decline in the oral health of the state’s children.

Created by the Delta Dental of Oklahoma Foundation, the Oklahoma Oral Health Coalition and the Oklahoma Primary Care Association, the report card illustrates the widespread oral health issues in the state and provides a framework for discussion on the challenges Oklahomans face in accessing dental care.

Key findings about adults in the 2023 oral health report card include: 60 percent of adults ages 18-64 visited the dentist in the last year.

40 percent of adults ages 65+ lost six or more teeth due to tooth decay or gum disease.

40 percent of pregnant women had their teeth cleaned during pregnancy.

Key findings about children enrolled in SoonerCare (or Medicaid) in the 2023 oral health report card include: 15 percent of children ages 1-2 received a preventive dental care visit.

45 percent of children ages 3-5 received a preventive dental care visit.

45 percent of children ages 1-20 received a preventive dental care visit.

9 percent of children ages 6-14 received dental sealants on permanent molars.

“The second Oklahoma Oral Health Report Card offers keen insights into how oral health within our state is progressing,” said Leon Bragg, DDS, chair of the Oklahoma Oral Health Coalition and past dental director of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority. “Comparing our state’s performance on key indicators with national averages is an effective way to illustrate the areas where Oklahoma falls short and helps us identify potential solutions.”

Additional findings of Oklahoma’s oral health performance in 2023 compared to 2020 include: Oklahoma improved in four adult oral health indicators, including dentist visits, number of lost teeth and pregnant women on SoonerCare who received a teeth cleaning. The percentage of SoonerCare children who received at least one dental checkup declined in every age category.

The number of Sooner-Care children who received dental sealants, a critical component of youth oral care, declined significantly from the 2020 reportcard and is among the very lowest in the nation.

“The negative impact of the pandemic era is evident when looking at the percentage of our state’s youth who received dental visits and sealants, both of which are crucial components of children’s dental health,” said Terrisa Singleton, director for the Delta Dental of Oklahoma Foundation. “Delta Dental of Oklahoma and its foundation recently launched a school-based sealant network to provide dental sealants to students at low-income schools across the state. We look forward to seeing how intervention initiatives like this impact the next Report Card.”

About the report card Data used for the report cards come from various sources including, but not limited to, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Data for the 2020 Report Card came from reporting periods between 2015 and 2018, the most recent data available at the time of publication. Data for the 2023 Report Card came from reporting period 2018 and 2023. A complete list of data sources is available on the Oklahoma Oral Health Coalition website at oohc.org.

Delta Dental of Oklahoma Foundation Delta Dental of Oklahoma (DDOK) established its Foundation in 1998 to advance the company’s notfor- profit mission to improve the oral health of all Oklahomans. In addition to its free dental care resources, the charitable organization provides grants and funds to free and low-cost clinics, awards scholarships to dental students and proactively educates thousands of elementary children from across the state about proper oral hygiene and dental disease prevention. The DDOK Foundation is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. For more information, visit DDOKFoundation.org.

Oklahoma Oral Health Coalition is a statewide network of agencies, organizations and individuals that facilitates collaboration, coordination and education to impact the oral health of Oklahoma’s children and their families. To learn more, visit oohc.org.

Oklahoma Primary Care Association (OKPCA) partners with community health centers, safety-net providers, and the patients they serve to strengthen and simplify healthcare access to underserved communities. In 2022, over 300,000 Oklahomans were served by a community health center. For more information, please visit okpca.org.