Hours Lost to Planned and Unplanned Dental Visits Among US Adults

Abstract

IntroductionPoor oral health is associated with lost hours at work or school, which may affect a person’s productivity. The objective of our study was to estimate work or school hours lost to dental visits among adults aged 18 and older by the types of visits (emergency or unplanned; routine, planned, or orthodontic; or cosmetic) and to determine the factors associated with hours lost.MethodsWe used the most recent Oral Health Supplement data, from the 2008 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), to estimate the total hours lost at work or school for dental visits among adults in the United States. The associations of the hours lost in unplanned and planned dental visits with socioeconomic characteristics, oral health status, and affordability were calculated. We used χ2 tests and logistic regression to determine associations at P < .05.ResultsAn average of 320.8 million work or school hours were lost annually for dental care in the United States, of which 92.4 million hours were for emergency (unplanned) care (0.99 h/adult), 159.8 million for routine (planned) care or orthodontic care (1.71 h/adult), and 68.6 million for cosmetic care (0.73 h/adult). Adults with poor oral health were more likely to lose one or more hours in unplanned dental visits (OR = 5.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.25–9.63) than those who reported very good oral health.Not being able to afford dental care was positively associated with more work hours lost in unplanned care (odds ratio [OR] = 2.56; 95% CI, 1.76–3.73). Compared with Hispanic adults, non-Hispanic white adults (OR = 2.09; 95% CI, 1.40–3.11) and non-Hispanic Asian adults and adults of other races/ethnicities (OR =1.91; 95% CI, 1.06–3.47) were more likely to lose any hours for planned care. Consistently, those with more than a high school education were more likely to lose any hours in planned care (OR = 1.39; 95% CI, 1.06–1.83) than those with a high school education or less.ConclusionsDental problems result in hours lost from work and may adversely affect a person’s productivity. There is disparity in lost hours at work by race/ethnicity and dental care affordability.

Validation of the Malay Oral Impacts on Daily Performances and Evaluation of Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in a Multi-Ethnic Urban Malaysian Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Pain from decayed teeth can reduce work productivity and disrupt one’s daily schedule due to loss of focus and the need to visit a dentist for treatment [ 38 , 39 ]. In the United States of America, over 300 million school or working hours were lost annually due to oral problems such as toothache [ 41 ].…”

Factors associated with oral pain and oral health-related productivity loss in the USA, National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), 2015–2018

“…However, many of individuals still go to work and carry out daily activities while experiencing an oral pain episode (presenteeism), which can impair their productivity, promote attention loss, irritability, anxiety, and depression, and increase the risk of work-related accidents [ 5 ]. In the US, almost 321 million hours of work and school are lost per year due to dental problems, of which emergency dental treatment accounted for 92.4 million work or school hours [ 31 ]. A Canadian study revealed that individuals lose an average of 3.5 working hours each year due to dental problems, which amounts to 40 million hours per year.…”

Upstream interventions to promote oral health and reduce socioeconomic oral health inequalities: a scoping review protocol

“…Poor oral health may lead to profound impacts on individuals and wider society. Pain or sepsis,4 lower self-esteem,5 reduced school attendance and poorer educational performance,6 poorer quality of life7 and reduced work productivity8 are all common impacts of oral diseases. There are also significant economic costs associated with dental treatment and lost productivity, amounting to approximately US$544 billion globally in 2015 9.…”