Health Reports, April 2026

Released: 2026-04-15

Self-rated oral health is a simple but powerful tool for national health surveillance

Poor oral health can affect eating, speaking, sleep quality, social functioning and self-confidence. Meanwhile, good oral health is associated with longevity, as well as a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and some cancers. Hence, it is important to monitor oral health as part of monitoring overall health status and quality of life.

While clinical examination surveys are the standard for population-level oral health surveillance, they are expensive and time consuming. The study "Prevalence and correlates of self-reported fair or poor oral health in Canada," released today in Health Reports, shows that surveys based on people's self-reported oral health and oral health conditions are a simple yet effective tool for this type of monitoring. The study is based on self-reported data from the 2023/2024 Canadian Oral Health Survey, collected from November 27, 2023, to March 13, 2024.

As oral health problems increase, self-reported oral health declines

The study found that, as the number of self-reported oral health conditions (including mouth pain, untreated mouth problems, needing to avoid certain foods because of mouth problems and persistent dry mouth) increased, so did reporting of fair or poor oral health. For example, the prevalence rate of reporting fair or poor oral health ranged from 5.7% when no other oral health conditions were reported to 65.0% when four oral health conditions were reported.

Satisfaction with the appearance of teeth or dentures also played a role in oral health reporting. People who were satisfied or very satisfied with their teeth or dentures had lower rates of fair or poor oral health (ranging from 1.9% to 27.8%, depending on the number of oral health conditions), while those who were dissatisfied had higher rates of fair or poor oral health (23.1% to 85.7%).

Overall, 18.5% of men and 15.6% of women in Canada reported their oral health as fair or poor. High levels of agreement between self-reported fair or poor oral health and other oral health measures suggest that most people consider other oral health conditions, such as mouth pain or functional problems (e.g., chewing difficulties), when making their assessments.

Sociodemographic and behavioural characteristics associated with fair or poor oral health

Men, racialized (and non-Indigenous) people, people from lower-income households and people who reported having a lower general health status were also found to be at higher risk of fair or poor oral health. In addition, not having had an annual dental visit or failing to brush twice daily was associated with worse self-rated oral health.

This study demonstrates that self-reported oral health can be useful for oral health monitoring in Canada, much like what is done in other countries. It contributes to the understanding of how self-rated oral health is associated with other self-reported oral health measures, such as oral hygiene practices and sociodemographic characteristics, some of which are not normally asked in Canada's national health surveys.

Products

The article "Prevalence and correlates of self-reported fair or poor oral health in Canada" is now available in the April 2026 online issue of Health Reports, Vol. 37, No. 04 (Catalogue number82-003-X).

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).