Did you know men are more likely to get oral cancer than
women? Men are also more likely to
skip dentist and doctor visits. For Men’s Health Month
happening now, let’s raise awareness about these and other disparities.
So what more can be done to reduce oral health disparities?
Overall, more than 10 adults out of every 100,000 will
develop oral cancer.
Oral
cancer incidence among men is more than twice as high as among women in the
United States. The same holds true when broken out by race for those who
identified as white, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian or Pacific
Islander.
However, prevalence among black men is more than three times
as high as among black women. The disparity is similar among Hispanic men and
women, too.
What’s more, oral cancer rates increase with age among both
women and men. The increase becomes more rapid after age 50 and peaks between
ages 60 and 70.
But diagnosing oral cancer at an early stage significantly
increases five-year survival rates. Today, we are more aware of the importance
of oral health and how to prevent disease thanks in large part to better
education, greater access and advances in technology.
These factors have helped
oral
cancer survival rates steadily improve since 1975, though the disparity among
white and black men has remained largely unchanged.
So what more can be done to reduce oral health disparities?
To start, efforts like those funded by the
DentaQuest Foundation are designed to target prevention and collaboration
in hyper-local ways.
One investment supports the Chicago Community Oral Health
Forum to develop and expand school-based oral health education to students in
the Chicago Public School system and the development of dental homes for
students with urgent needs.
Another investment is supporting the University of Alabama
as it implements a framework for interprofessional training that will produce
health care practitioners in Alabama with a greater understanding of oral
health and the ability to work in health teams to provide optimal care to their
patients – from geriatrics to pediatrics.
These types of programs happening across the country target
long-term improvements and sustainable changes for a variety of communities –
from predominantly black public schools in Chicago to the elderly in Alabama.
The DentaQuest
Institute, meanwhile, is expanding oral health care to rural parts of the
country. Experts are working closely with local teams, helping providers
develop evidence-based and financially-sound practices that ensure a continuum
of care for regions that largely have been without regular access to dental
care.
With dedication and support, these projects can ultimately
change the trajectory of oral health disparities in America.