With February being National Children’s Dental Health Month and about 15 percent of children aged 2-17 having not seen a dentist in the past year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2020’s States with the Best & Worst Dental Health as well as accompanying videos.
In order to determine which places have the healthiest teeth and gums in the U.S., WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 26 key metrics. The data set ranges from share of adolescents who visited a dentist in the past year to dental treatment costs to share of adults with low life satisfaction due to oral condition.
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States with the Best Dental Health |
States with the Worst Dental Health |
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| 1. Wisconsin | 42. Florida | |
| 2. Illinois | 43. Kentucky | |
| 3. Minnesota | 44. Alaska | |
| 4. District of Columbia | 45. Texas | |
| 5. Connecticut | 46. Alabama | |
| 6. North Dakota | 47. Louisiana | |
| 7. Michigan | 48. Montana | |
| 8. Massachusetts | 49. West Virginia | |
| 9. Idaho | 50. Arkansas | |
| 10. Iowa | 51. Mississippi |
Best vs. Worst
- Rhode Island has the lowest share of the population who couldn’t afford more dental visits due to costs, 37.00 percent, which is two times lower than in Georgia, the state with the highest at 74.00 percent.
- Utah has the most dentists per 100,000 residents, 55, which is 3.1 times more than in Louisiana, the state with the fewest at 18.
- The District of Columbia has the highest share of the population receiving fluoridated water, 100.00 percent, which 8.8 times higher than in Hawaii, the state with the lowest at 11.30 percent.
- Minnesota, Hawaii and Illinois have the lowest share of adults with poor or fair oral condition, 22.00 percent, which is 1.8 times lower than in Montana, the state with the highest at 40.00 percent.
To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank, please visit: https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-best-worst-dental-health/31498/