Fifty percent of adults in the U.S. are not aware of the link between poor oral health and heart disease, according to Proclaim's new "Oral Health Insights Report."
Proclaim is the manufacturer of the first personalized and automated oral health jet cleaning system.
The company partnered with online market research company Pollfish in May to survey 2,000 adults in the U.S. Proclaim used the results from the survey along with additional data sources to create its report, released June 20.
Here are six insights from the report:
1. Sixty-one percent of survey respondents reported that their primary care physician does not discuss oral health with them on a regular basis.
2. Thirty-two percent of respondents said their primary care provider does not discuss preventive health on a regular basis.
3. Half of the survey respondents were not aware of the link between poor oral health and heart disease, while 77% of respondents were not aware of the link between poor oral health and cognitive disorders.
4. Proclaim CEO Heberto Calves said in a June 20 news release that the lack of communication between healthcare providers and patients creates a "knowledge gap" that can potentially lead to a large portion of the population being diagnosed with preventable diseases.
5. Seventy-four percent of respondents agreed that an unexpected health problem could wipe out their savings.
6. Forty-three percent of respondents reported flossing every day, while seven percent said they never floss.