An Uneven Distribution of Oral Health Care

A recent Policy Brief on a Massachusetts Health Reform Survey funded by Blue Cross Blue Shield examined

Oral health is an important part of overall health, and dental disease is associated with other chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and preterm birth. The survey looked closely at access to oral health services, and found large disparities in dental care visits by region as well as race/ethnicity.

Highlights of the report include:

• Adults in the Western region were less likely to have had and dental care visits than adults in the MetroWest region, while those in the Southeast region were less likely to have a usual source of dental care visits.
• Adults in the Western and Southeast regions were more likely to report unmet need for dental care than were adults in the MetroWest region.
• Hispanic adults were significantly less likely to have had a dental care visit (69.8% versus 76.3%) than white adults.
• Black adults were also significantly less likely than white adults to have had a dental care visit in the last 12 months (66.0% versus 76.3%).

A large part of these disparities stem from a lack of enough dentists to go around. Nearly 25 percent of communities in the Commonwealth do not have a practicing dentist. This uneven distribution of oral health care means that many families, particularly those in Western Massachusetts, must travel long distances to get the care they need. This burden of travel often translates into an inability to access care.

We can do better than this. The state’s current system of oral health care is an uneven patchwork of services, so we need to be creative when developing ways to deliver oral health care to all communities. For more information about how to close the gaps in the oral health care system, please contact Christine Keeves, Oral Health Communications Coordinator at 617-275-2919 or ckeeves@hcfama.org, or visit

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