With February being National Children’s Dental Health Month, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2024’s States with the Best & Worst Dental Health, as well as expert commentary.
In order to determine where people have the healthiest teeth and gums in the U.S., WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 25 key metrics. The data set ranges from the share of adolescents who visited a dentist in the past year to dental treatment costs to dentists per capita.
| Best Dental Health | Worst Dental Health | |
| 1. Illinois | 42. Florida | |
| 2. Wisconsin | 43. Kentucky | |
| 3. Idaho | 44. Alabama | |
| 4. Minnesota | 45. Alaska | |
| 5. Michigan | 46. Texas | |
| 6. Connecticut | 47. Montana | |
| 7. District of Columbia | 48. Louisiana | |
| 8. North Dakota | 49. West Virginia | |
| 9. Massachusetts | 50. Mississippi | |
| 10. Ohio | 51. Arkansas |
Best vs. Worst
- Rhode Island has the lowest share of the population who couldn’t afford more dental visits due to costs, which is two times lower than in Georgia, the state with the highest.
- The District of Columbia has the most dentists per 100,000 residents, which is 4.1 times more than in Tennessee, the state with the fewest.
- The District of Columbia has the highest share of the population receiving fluoridated water, which is 11.8 times higher than in Hawaii, the state with the lowest.
- Minnesota, Hawaii and Illinois have the lowest share of adults with poor or fair oral condition, which is 1.8 times lower than in Montana, the state with the highest.
