Oral Health Equity & Social Determinants of Health

A 2021 report from the National Institutes of Health & National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. This report updates the findings of the 2000 Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General, highlighting the national importance of oral health and its relationship to overall health. It also focuses on new scientific and technological knowledge as well as innovations in health care delivery that offer promising new directions for improving oral health care and creating greater equity in oral health across communities.

The major message of the report is that oral health means much more than healthy teeth, and is integral to the general health and well-being of all Americans. Oral health must be included in the provision of health care and design of community programs.

This surveillance report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides national estimates for selected measures for oral health status during 2011–2016, examines changes since 1999–2004, and highlights disparities in oral health by certain sociodemographic characteristics.

For the 20th year in a row, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has reported on healthcare quality and disparities. The National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report presents trends for measures related to access to care, affordable care, care coordination, effective treatment, healthy living, patient safety, and person-centered care. The report presents, in chart form, the latest available findings on quality of and access to healthcare, as well as disparities related to race and ethnicity, income, and other social determinants of health.

Racial and ethnic inequities in health and health care impact individual well-being, contribute to millions of premature deaths, and cost the United States hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Addressing these inequities is vital to improving the health of the nation’s most disadvantaged communities—and will also help to achieve optimal health for all. I