title: Socioeconomic and racial/ethnic oral health disparities among US older adults: oral health quality of life and dentition.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to examine if older adults living in poverty and from minority racial/ethnic groups experienced disproportionately high rates of poor oral health outcomes measured by oral health quality of life (OHQOL) and number of permanent teeth.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional analysis of 2,745 community-dwelling adults aged ≥65 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2008. Oral health outcomes were assessed by questionnaire using the NHANES-Oral Health Impact Profile for OHQOL and standardized examination for dentition. Logistic and linear regression analyses were used to determine the association between oral health outcomes and predictors of interest. All analyses were weighted to account for complex survey sampling methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both poverty and minority race/ethnicity were significantly associated with poor oral health outcomes in OHQOL and number of permanent teeth. Distribution of scores for each OHQOL domain varied by minority racial/ethnic group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oral health disparities persist in older adults living in poverty and among those from minority racial/ethnic groups. The racial/ethnic variation in OHQOL domains should be further examined to develop interventions to improve the oral health of these groups.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah L
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2156-920X
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Community Systems, School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Mijung
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003817:Dentition; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health; D011203:Poverty; D011788:Quality of Life; D044469:Racial Groups; D012923:Social Class; D014481:United States
keywords: NHANES; health status disparities; older adults; oral health; quality of life; tooth loss