Hispanic-Non Hispanic White Ethnic Disparities in Oral Health Status among the American Adults

• In Event: 3129 - Section on Medical Sociology Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 20. Health Lifestyles and Disparities

Abstract

The debate about the role of socioeconomic factors (SES) and oral health behaviors in explaining the ethnic disparities between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites in oral health has not been addressed in previous studies. On the one hand, some scholars agree that SES is a fundamental cause in determining people’s health, which makes whites have better oral health than Hispanics. On the other hand, based on “Hispanic Paradox,” other researchers believe that Hispanics’ oral health status is better because they have healthier oral health behaviors. This research supports the first argument that Hispanics have a worse oral health status than non-Hispanic whites, and SES is a more influential predictor for oral health than oral health behaviors, which explains why the “Hispanic Paradox” does not apply to oral health status.

Author

• Wenyue Lu, Temple University