More than 21% of adults in the U.S. do not have dental insurance, according to data from the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute.
Here are six things to know about the ADA's research:
1. In 2022, the most recent data available, 21.8% of adults in the U.S. were uninsured in terms of dental coverage, a decrease of 10% compared to 2022.
2. More than 60% of adults had private dental coverage, while nearly 16% had public coverage.
3. The percentage of adults with private insurance has stayed steady, increasing slightly from 60.8% in 2002 to 62.4% in 2022.
4. The percentage of adults with public dental insurance has more than doubled since 2002, reaching 15.8% in 2022.
5. In 2010, 34.6% of adults did not have dental insurance, the highest percentage of uninsured adults since 2002.
6. The percentage of uninsured adults has decreased each year since 2012.