With among the country’s lowest number of dentists per capita and high numbers of residents reporting tooth pain, it’s not surprising a study has ranked Alabama as second worst state for dental health. 

WalletHub, a personal-finance research website, compiled an in-depth report, 2017’s States with the Best & Worst Dental Health, with February being National Children’s Dental Health Month.  

Analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 23 key metrics. The data set ranges from “share of adolescents who visited a dentist in the past year” to “dental treatment costs” to “share of adults with low life satisfaction due to oral condition.”

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, there were 2,112 dentists in Alabama, as of October 2016. That’s roughly one dentist for every 2,306 Alabamian. 

Sixty percent of Alabama adults reported visiting the dentist or dental clinic within the past year, according to the foundation. 

For the full report, go to: https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-best-worst-dental-health/31498/

23rd: Percentage of adolescents who visited a dentist in the past year.

39th: Percentage of adults who visited a dentist in the past year.

48th: Dentists per capita.

30th: Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among adolescents.

31st: Percentage of adults with poor or fair oral condition.

42nd: Percentage of adults who experienced pain in the past year due to their oral condition.

32nd: Percentage of adults with low life satisfaction due to their oral condition.