Disparities in Oral Health and Access of Low-Income Californians

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​Oral health plays a vital role in overall health status and has been linked to chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, yet it is often overlooked as a critical health issue. For Californians, education, where people live, race/ethnicity, age, English language proficiency, immigration status, low income, and other determinants of oral health can play a significant role in oral health status.

On June 21, 2021, Nadereh Pourat, PhD, UCLA CHPR associate director and director of the HEER Program, walked through findings from several studies she's conducted on factors that contribute to or improve disparities in oral health status and access to dental care. For example, 39% of Californians reported having fair or poor oral health status and 41% reported not having visited the dentist in the past year, according to one of the studies that uses 2019 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) data. A heightened demand for services and a short supply of dentists who see Medi-Cal patients also play a role in why low-income California adults are having difficulties in meeting their dental care needs.

Speakers

Nadereh Pourat

Nadereh Pourat

Director, Health Economics and Evaluation Research Program, and Associate Center Director

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Upcoming Events

Thursday, October 09, 2025

Webinar // 12:00 PM — 1:00 PM

California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) Annual Data Release

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Thursday, October 30, 2025

Training Webinar // 12:00 PM — 1:30 PM

California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) Data User Training: October 30, 2025

Join the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research as we host a data user training on Thursday, October 30 to demonstrate how to use CHIS' free online health query tool AskCHIS™ to get data on a wide range of health topics.

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