Gallup: About one-third of U.S. adults didn't see dentist in past year

WASHINGTON, April 28 (UPI) -- About 1 in 3 U.S. adults did not visit the dentist with the past 12 months, a survey found -- similar to results of a survey in 2008.

Gallup interviewed 178,072 U.S. adults in 2013 for the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index and found 64.7 percent last year visited the dentist at least once.

The American Dental Association recommends adults visit a dentist at least once a year and the survey found one-third of U.S. adults did not meet this minimum level of dental care. Poor oral care has been linked to both heart disease and stroke, atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes.

Blacks, Hispanics, young adults ages 18 to 29 and those living in the South were the least likely to visit the dentist. Married people were more likely to visit the dentist then those unmarried.

More than 8 in 10 in households with an annual income of $120,000 said they visited the dentist, while 4 out of 10 who earned $12,000 a year said they saw a dentist within the year.

The telephone survey was conducted as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index survey Jan. 2 to Dec. 29, 2013. The survey has a margin of error of 1 percentage point.