Hawaii Oral Health: Key Findings

Children

In 2011/2012, 73% of parents in Hawaii report that the health of their children’s teeth is excellent or very good, and 80% report no oral health problem for their children in the past 6 months.
Overall, based on parental report, most children 1-17 years of age in Hawaii (84%) had seen a dentist in the past year in 2011/2012. However, the percent of middle (78%) and high school (77%) students in public schools reported having a dental visit in the past year in 2013 is lower.
About 29% of low-income children 1-17 years of age in Hawaii had a dental problem in the past 6 months compared to only 13% of higher income children in 2011/2012.
About 59% of the 1-18 year old children enrolled in Hawaii’s Medicaid/QUEST program saw a dentist in 2013, which is above the rate for 1-18 year old Medicaid children in the United States (50%)
About 35% of the 1-18 year old children enrolled in Hawaii’s Medicaid/Quest program received dental treatment services in 2013, which is above the rate for 1-18 year old Medicaid children in the United States (24%)

Only 41% of pregnant women in Hawaii reported seeing a dentist during their pregnancy in 2009-2011
Residents of Hawaii County, young women (20-29 years), women with less than high school education, low-income women, and women on Medicaid/QUEST health insurance are particular groups among the lowest estimates of seeing a dentist during pregnancy in 2009-2011

70% of adults (> 18 years) in Hawaii reported seeing a dentist in the past year, similar to the average for adults in the rest of the United States (67%) in 2012.
51% of low-income adults lost teeth from dental disease compared to only 32% of higher income adults in 2012.
While 82% of high-income adults see the dentist each year, only 52% of low-income adults reported seeing a dentist in the past year in 2012.

In 2012 in Hawaii, there were more than 3,000 emergency room visits due to preventable dental problems. This is a 67% increase from 2006, much higher than the 22% increase seen in the rest of the United States from 2006-2009
In 2013, there were 1,283 persons per dentist in Hawaii with much higher ratios among neighbor island counties
Over the past five years, there has been a substantial decline in the number of clients transported from neighbor islands to Honolulu for dental services from 3,633 clients in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 to 2,266 clients in FY 2013
Only 11% of Hawaii’s residents who got their water from public water systems have fluoridated drinking water compared to 75% for the United States as a whole in 2012.