title: Trends of edentulism among middle-aged and older Asian Americans.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We estimated national trends of the prevalence of edentulism (complete tooth loss) for Asian American subgroups in the United States and investigated factors that could contribute to improvements in edentulism across populations over time.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used 10 waves of the National Health Interview Survey data collected from 1999 to 2008. Eligible respondents were those aged 50 years and older who completed the question on tooth loss. We contrasted the odds and probabilities of edentulism over time in Chinese, Filipinos, Asian Indians, and other Asians with those in Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The rates of edentulism differed substantially across Asian subgroups. Compared with Whites, Chinese and other Asians had a lower risk of being edentulous, whereas being Filipino increased the odds. The rate for Asian Indians was similar to that for Whites. Nonetheless, rates of decline were similar across the Asian population groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Asian Americans are heterogeneous in edentulism. Innovative and sustainable public health programs and services are essential to prevent oral health diseases and conditions.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Duke University, 307 Trent Dr, DUMC 3322, Durham, NC 27710, USA. bei.wu@duke.edu
authors.forename: Bei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jersey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Lawrence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Landerman
authors.forename: Brenda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Plassman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009066:Mouth, Edentulous / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D010679:Philippines / Q000208:ethnology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data