Higher firearm violence in neighborhoods is linked to lower rates of people going to the dentist and higher rates of total tooth loss, known as edentulism, according to Rutgers researchers. Their study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for dental care utilization and complete loss of teeth and data from the American Violence Project for firearm violence incidents. The researchers examined 20,332 census tracts within the 100 largest cities in the United States from 2014 to 2022 using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and the American Communities Survey.
Findings from the study suggest that community firearm violence may influence community-level dental care usage and oral health through various pathways. Chronic exposure to violence can lead to a person’s fear for safety and stress that can impact their health.
First, such violence can instill a widespread sense of fear and insecurity, potentially discouraging individuals from seeking dental care because of safety concerns. Second, chronic exposure to violence may contribute to sustained stress that could lead to unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, poor sleep, physical inactivity and poor diet, which are risk factors for oral health issues. Third, the broader social and economic disruptions caused by community violence can reduce the financial means and logistical capacity to access dental care while limiting dental providers’ availability in affected areas. To read the full story.