The Mouth as a Site of Compound Injustices: A Structural Intersectionality Approach to the Oral Health of Working-Age US Adults

Knowledge of and practice around health inequities have been limited by scarce investigations on intersecting forms of structural oppression, including the extent to which their effects are more severe among multiply marginalized groups. We addressed these insufficiencies by adopting a structural intersectionality approach to the study of edentulism (i.e., complete tooth loss), the dental equivalent of mortality. While individual information was gathered from approximately 200,000 adult (ages 18-64 years) respondents to the 2010 US Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey, state-level data for 2000 and 2010 were obtained from a 2021 study by Homan et al. (J Health Soc Behav. 2021;62(3):350-370) and the US Census. These 3 sources provided information on edentulism, race, sex, structural racism, structural sexism, and income inequality, in addition to multiple covariates. Analyses showed that the intersections between structural sexism and state-level income inequality and structural racism were associated with 1.4 (95% confidence interval: 1.1, 1.9) and 1.5 (95% confidence interval: 1.1, 2.2) times' increased odds of complete tooth loss, respectively. The frequency of edentulism was highest among non-Hispanic Black men residing in states with high structural racism, high structural sexism, and high economic inequality. Based on these and other findings, we highlight the importance of a structural intersectionality approach to research and policy related to health inequities in the United States and elsewhere.

Automated summary

This study used a structural intersectionality approach to examine the impact of edentulism, structural sexism, structural racism, and income inequality on health inequities. The findings showed significant associations between structural sexism and racism and the prevalence of edentulism, as well as high income inequality. Based on these results, the importance of employing a structural intersectionality approach in researching and addressing health inequities in the United States and other regions is emphasized.