Preventative dental practices and cardiometabolic health in adolescents.

The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between preventative dental practices and cardiometabolic health in adolescents. Analysis included children aged 13-17 years enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011-2018 who completed an Oral Health Examination and Questionnaire. Deferred dental care was defined as not having a dental visit in the past year. Financial barriers to seeking dental care (vs. no financial barriers) were assessed among those with deferred dental care in the past year. Primary cardiometabolic outcomes included obesity, elevated blood pressure and hypertensive blood pressure. Secondary outcomes included dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance, uric acid, glomerular hyperfiltration, and albuminuria. Regression models adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, household income, food insecurity, health insurance status, household education, and body mass index z-score examined associations using complex survey design procedures. Of 2,861 adolescents, 17.6% (SE 0.9%) did not receive dental care in the past year and 20.2% (SE 1.9%) had a financial barrier to accessing dental care. In adjusted regression models, adolescents with deferred dental care had higher odds of dyslipidemia (OR= 1.51, 95% CI 1.07, 2.11 p = 0.020). Having a financial barrier was associated with a lower odd of dyslipidemia (OR=0.35, 95% CI 0.14, 0.89 p = 0.03). Financial barriers were associated with lower non-HDL (b=-7.95, 95% CI -14.87, -1.05 p=0.03) and higher HDL (b=3.06, 95% CI 0.37, 5.75 p=0.03) in adjusted models. Deferred dental care and financial barriers were not associated with any other cardiometabolic parameters. In this nationally representative cohort of adolescents, there was an association between lack of preventative dental care and the cardiometabolic health marker of dyslipidemia. However, financial barriers to dental care were surprisingly associated with higher HDL levels and lower odds of dyslipidemia.