Bridging the Oral Care Knowledge Gap among Hispanics

U.S. Hispanics’ knowledge about oral health has improved somewhat since 2011 according to a re-fielded national survey led by the Hispanic Dental Association Foundation (HDAF) and sponsored by Procter & Gamble (P&G) brand Crest^®. However, barriers to accessing dental care and awareness about key oral health issues continue to be among the challenges Hispanics are facing in America. These new findings from the re-fielded “Hispanics Open up about Oral Health Care” survey were presented today at the influential event, Hispanicize.

“This survey was originally issued in 2011 and we felt it was time to get a pulse check on our efforts, so, we re-issued five questions from our survey in partnership with Crest, to re-examine the barriers, misperceptions and attitudes U.S. Hispanics have about their oral health,” said Sarita Arteaga, DMD, MAGD and President of the HDAF. “The challenges U.S. Hispanics still face includes, achieving good oral health, having misperceptions about their personal oral health, and gaining access to oral health care.”

Improvements in U.S. Hispanic oral health

The survey found some improvements amongst U.S. Hispanics in their general oral health knowledge. Specifically:

• Only 21% of U.S. Hispanics currently are misinformed whether cavities will go away on their own if you brush regularly, which is a 30% decline since the 2011 survey¹ (when 30% held this view)
• 53% of U.S. Hispanics are misinformed if brushing is more important than flossing, an improvement from 68% in 2011¹

Barriers to better oral health still faced by U.S. Hispanics

When rating their personal oral health, and when responding to questions about specific oral health issues, the gaps between U.S. Hispanics and the General population still exist. Specifically:

• U.S. Hispanics still remain less likely to rate their overall oral health as “excellent” or “good”: 65% vs. 72% of the General population¹
• One of the key barriers to better oral health for U.S. Hispanics still remains a lack of dental insurance: 48% vs. 39% among the General population¹
• 51% of U.S. Hispanics surveyed correctly understand that gingivitis will not go away on its own with brushing – still less than 67% recorded among the General population¹

“Crest’s partnership with the HDAF continues to focus on identifying the oral health misperceptions among Hispanics in the U.S. in order to eventually provide solutions,” said R. Iván Lugo, DMD, MBA and P&G North America and Puerto Rico Region Manager for Professional and Scientific Relations Global Professional Oral Health Division. “As we continue to turn awareness into action, taking a quick pulse check on the state of Hispanic oral health helps to keep our plans moving in the right direction.”

In an effort to educate U.S. Hispanics about their oral health and meet their collective objectives, the HDAF and Crest have initiated several community and professional programs over the past several years including: roundtables with leaders in the dental industry, sessions on Capitol Hill with members of Congress and interactive consumer-facing events at cultural fairs in Hispanic-dominant regions. As an outcome of the re-issued survey, the HDAF and Crest have collaborated on infographics to demonstrate the knowledge gaps in an easy-to-digest way. These images will be shared in consulates in highly populated Hispanic areas to help bring additional awareness to understanding the importance of one’s oral health.

For more information on Crest’s latest products and offerings, please follow @CrestLatino. For more information on the survey, please visit www.HDASSOC.com.

About the Hispanic Dental Association Foundation (HDAF)

The Hispanic Dental Association Foundation is a national, non-profit organization comprised of oral health professionals and students dedicated to promoting and improving the oral health of the Hispanic community and providing advocacy for Hispanic oral health professionals across the U.S. The Association works with a wide spectrum of individuals and organizations to communicate to Hispanic and non-Hispanic dental professionals, students and the public.

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves approximately 4.8 billion people around the world with its brands. The Company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Ace®, Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Duracell®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Fusion®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Iams®, Lenor®, Mach3®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, Prestobarba®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, Wella®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About Crest

A trusted leader in oral health, Crest was the first oral care brand to secure the ADA Seal of Acceptance for a clinically proven fluoride toothpaste. Since first introducing fluoride toothpaste 54 years ago, it is estimated that Crest has helped prevent more than half a billion cavities in the United States. Headquartered in Cincinnati, OH, Crest is owned and distributed by Procter & Gamble.

“Hispanics Open Up About Oral Health Care” Survey Re-Field Methodologyⁱ

GfK Public Affairs & Corporate Communications interviewed approximately 1,000 U.S. Hispanics and 1,000 members of the U.S. General Public, ages 18-plus, online using GfK’s KnowledgePanel Omnibus Services from: January 16-21, 2014 (Hispanics) and January 17-19, 2014 (General Public). Survey results were balanced to ensure that the age, gender, education and region of the participants reflected the Hispanic population and the general population in the U.S. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation; the margin of error is +/-5 percentage points (Hispanic sample) and +/-4 percentage points (General Public) at the 95% confidence level.

The ‘Hispanics Open Up about Oral Health Care’ survey has been reviewed and accepted by the Journal of the Academy of General Dentistry, and will publish in their Fall edition.

References:

1. GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications, Hispanic Dental Association Foundation and Crest. “Hispanics Open Up About Oral Health Care.” 2014.

ⁱ Both 2014 samples – Hispanics and General Public – are nationally representative of their respective populations. It should be noted, however, that the 2011 survey employed a nationally representative RDD telephone sample design / mode, while the 2014 survey employed an online nationally representative design / mode (via the GfK KnowledgePanel). Differences between the 2011 and 2014 waves should, therefore, be interpreted with caution.

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