One Less Crown To Worry About: Latinos Are Skimping On Dental Care

Polls suggest that nearly 42% of surveyed Latinos have not visited the dentist within the past 12 months. Many Latinos (and others) are choosing to forgo regular dental visits because of the economy, either because they’ve lost their jobs and insurance, they didn’t have insurance to begin with or because they’re hoarding money to spend on diabetes-inducing sweets. Jay kay.

A study conducted a few years ago may point to another reason why many Latinos are skipping out on their exams. The study in question, conducted by the UCLA Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture, found that a mere 4.6 percent of dentists in California happened to be Latino, even though Latinos made up  32.4 percent of the state’s population. The survey also found that Latino dentists were, perhaps unsurprisingly, more likely to speak Spanish and open their practice in heavily Latino-populated communities, so an increase in Latino dentists would, it would seem, eventually lead to an increase in Latino dental patients. Since the survey, many dental schools have made efforts to recruit and retain Latino students in the hopes of better serving the Latino community.

Additionally, Proctor & Gamble is organizing an initiative to get Latinos into the dentist’s chair for regular check-ups and cleanings. And, we’re sure, market some dental health products to the Latino market in the process. 

So. When was the last time you visited the dentist?

Almost half of Hispanics cutting back on routine dental care [Dental Plans]