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Running the Numbers

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a health-related telephone survey conducted in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and several US territories. Adults aged 18 years and older in households with telephones are contacted via random-digit dialing, and interviewers use a computer-assisted, telephone-interviewing system to conduct the survey. North Carolina has participated in the BRFSS since 1987. In 2011, a new weighting methodology—raking, or iterative proportional fitting—was implemented, along with the addition of cell phone interviews, in order to reduce the bias in BRFSS estimates and improve the generalizability of the results to the statewide population. Due to these changes, BRFSS results from 2011 and later are not comparable with earlier years [1]. In even-numbered years, the core BRFSS questionnaire contains a module on Oral Health (see Figure 1). These Oral Health survey questions are asked biannually, and no changes are made to questions between survey years. Dental Visits The BRFSS Oral Health module begins with a question regarding dental visits. Results for North Carolina are presented as the calculated variable “Adults with a Dentist or Dental Clinic Visit within the Past Year for Any Reason” in Table 1. In 2016, 63.6% of adults visited a dentist or dental clinic within the past year for any reason, which is not statistically different from the 2012 and 2014 results. Variation among selected sociodemographic groups does exist. In 2016, for those with less than a high school education, only 34.8% visited a dentist or dental clinic within the past…