Unmet Dental Needs Among Mid-to-Older Deaf and Hard of Hearing Women in the U.S.

Introduction: Despite the significant number of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) people living in the U.S., oral health research on DHH people who use American Sign Language (ASL) is virtually nonexistent. This study aims to investigate dental needs among mid-to-older DHH women and identify social determinants of health that may place them at higher risk for unmet dental health needs as the primary outcome.

Methods: This cross-sectional study uses data drawn from Communication Health domain in the PROMIS-DHH Profile and oral health data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Both measures were administered in ASL and English between November 2019 and March 2020. Univariate and bivariate analysis included only complete data, and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted on multiply imputed data.

Results: Out of 197 DHH women (41 to 71+ years old) who answered the dental visit question, 48 had unmet dental needs and 149 had met dental needs. Adjusting for sociodemographic variables, disparity in dental needs was observed across education [OR (95% CI): 0.45(0.15, 1.370)] and communication health [0.95 (0.90, 1.01)].

Discussion: Our study is the first to describe DHH mid-to-older women's access to oral health care. DHH women who do not have a college degree may be impacted. Further research is needed to elucidate the particular risk factors, including cultural, to which DHH individuals from marginalized racial groups are susceptible to unmet oral health needs.

Conclusions: Evidence shows that DHH ASL users who have less years of education or are single experience barriers in accessing dental care.