An Exploratory Study of Oral and Dental Health in Canada

Abstract

Healthcare practitioners agree that good oral health is a critical indicator of general health and wellness of a population. The lack of access to mandatory coverage for common issues such as cavities and non-surgical periodontal care often lead not only to medical problems, but also to loss of productivity. This trend is especially evident for older individuals and lower-income families. This paper discusses the results of our exploration of the annual Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), in order to further study the interplay between socio-economic factors and oral and dental health. To this end, we present the results when applying a number of machine learning algorithms to a CCHS data mart. Our results reaffirm that individuals' levels and sources of income are strong indicators of the number of dental visits per year. In addition, we found that younger adults and youth, who usually live in larger households, visit the dentist less frequently than all other survey respondents.