Child Oral Health Indicators from State School Surveys (1994-2020)

NOHSS Child Indicators contain state-level oral health survey data for third-grade students and other school-aged children from 1994 through 2020. The Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD) collects and reviews voluntary state submissions before inclusion in CDC's Oral Health Data system. Data includes indicators on caries experience, untreated tooth decay, and dental sealants.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in caries experience and untreated tooth decay prevalence by state and school year using IndicatorID, LocationDesc, and SchoolYearEnd columns.
• Assess correlations between oral health indicators and economic factors by joining Percent_eligible_for_the_NSLP_State and LocationAbbr data.
• Map geographic disparities in child oral health using GeoLocation (state) and Data_Value_Unit columns for spatial analysis.
• Evaluate data quality and representativeness for specific grades and years using Response_Rate_Footnote_Symbol and SortGradeID fields.
• Model confidence in state-level estimates by incorporating High_Confidence_Interval and Confidence_Interval_Footnote data points.

Strengths

• Data spans 26 years from school year-end 1994 through 2020, enabling longitudinal trend analysis.
• Includes multiple data quality indicators such as Confidence_Interval_Footnote_Symbol and Response_Rate_Footnote_Symbol for assessment.
• Contains geospatial fields (GeoLocation, LocationAbbr) enabling state and potentially city-level analysis.

Limitations

• Sample size and row count are unknown, limiting assessment of statistical power.
• Data collection is voluntary and state-conducted, potentially introducing geographic bias and coverage gaps.
• Indicators are based on periodic state surveys, not continuous monitoring, which may affect temporal granularity.

Provenance

Source

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Oral Health Data via data.cdc.gov, with data originally from state surveys reviewed by the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD).

Collection Method

States conduct independent probability sample surveys of school-grade children; ASTDD reviews survey design and data quality before CDC inclusion.

Time Range

School year-end 1994 through year-end 2020.

Freshness

Dataset was last updated in September 2023, but the latest data point covers year-end 2020.

Geography

United States state-level data, with some potential for city-level detail via GeoLocation (city).