title: Dental visits among adult Hispanics--BRFSS 1999 and 2006.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined and compared utilization of dental services by adult U.S. Hispanics 18 years and older in the years 1999 and 2006.
  
  
  METHODS
  Dental utilization data collected by telephone interviews by the state-based Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 2006, the state mean and median prevalence of adult Hispanics with dental visits during the past year were 56.2 percent and 62.1 percent, respectively, and had not changed significantly since 1999. In 40 states, utilization was well below the national prevalence of 70.3 percent. Frequency of dental visits was significantly higher among females and those with higher income (> $50,000), higher education, nonsmokers, and persons having medical health insurance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings from this study suggest that barriers to utilization of dental services among Hispanic adults exist in most states and may contribute to existing oral health disparities. The magnitude of this problem may increase in the future with the expansion of the U.S. Hispanic population.
authors.affiliation: Division of Oral Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia 30341, USA. peke@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Paul I
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Eke
authors.forename: Freder
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jaramillo
authors.forename: Gina O
authors.initials: GO
authors.lastname: Thornton-Evans
authors.forename: Wenche S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Borgnakke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003752:Dental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans