Toothless in Chicago: Top 10 Towns Where Most, Fewest Seniors Have Lost All Their Teeth — and What It Tells Us

Your smile can say a lot about your overall health.

According to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, one in every six adults 65 or older has lost all of his or her teeth. It’s twice as likely to happen to senior citizens who suffer from emphysema, heart disease or who have a history of strokes.

But there are other factors as well: Only 11% of seniors who have high incomes lose all their teeth, and 34% of seniors with low incomes lose them all, three times as often.

Only 9% of senior citizens who went to college lose all their teeth, while 34% of older adults without a high school diploma lose them, nearly four times as often.

And it’s even worse if you smoke: Forty-three percent of seniors who smoke lose all their teeth, according to the CDC. For those older adults who never smoked, that drops to 12%. And no matter what your age, if you smoke right now, you’re three times more likely to eventually lose all your teeth than your friends and family who aren’t smokers.

It’s more than just your smile at stake. The CDC says poor oral health can contribute to heart problems, because bacteria and germs can get more easily into your blood stream through your weak gums. Gum disease can also cause bacteria to be pulled into your lungs, causing pneumonia. And severe gum disease, called periodontitis, is even linked to premature births and low birth weight, according to the CDC.

So how are we all doing "toothwise" here in the Chicago area?

NBC 5 Investigates and Telemundo Chicago Investiga looked at the most recent federal health data on people 65 and over who’ve lost all their teeth. We parsed the numbers down to every one of more than 500 ZIP codes in the greater Chicago area, including northwest Indiana and southeast Wisconsin, and found that the basic fact of losing your teeth appears to be related to a host of other, sometimes surprising, factors.

First, here are the Top 10 Chicago-area towns where the fewest seniors lose all of their teeth:

1. Kenilworth, Illinois (only 3.8% of residents aged 65 or older have lost all their teeth)
2. Glencoe, Illinois (4.0%)
3. Winnetka and Wilmette, Illinois (tie) (4.2%)
4. Western Springs and River Forest, Illinois (tie) (4.5%)
5. Evanston, Illinois (western area) (4.9%)
6. Glenview, Illinois (south area) (5.1%)
7. Oak Park and Golf, Illinois (tie) (5.2%)

And here the Chicago neighborhoods where the fewest senior citizens have lost all their teeth:

1. Loop (west area) (only 3.4% of residents aged 65 or older have lost all their teeth)
2. Loop (north central area) and Near East Side (tie) (3.6%)
3. River North and West Loop Gate (tie) (3.8%)
4. Gold Coast (4.1%)
5. Lake View East (4.4%)
6. Lincoln Park (4.6%)
7. Loop (east central area) (5.0%)
8. South Loop (north area) (5.7%)

For the most part, these are wealthy, white towns and neighborhoods.

The suburb of Kenilworth, which is especially wealthy and white and is top-of-the-tops in the entire Chicago area in terms of dental health, also ranks No. 1 in the entire area for residents who see a dentist on a regular basis. It also tops the list for residents who don’t smoke. And remember, the CDC directly connects tooth-loss and smoking.

We found that all of the other top-ten towns and Chicago neighborhoods have low rates of smokers and high rates of dental visits, as well. They all have another trait that’s important: Most of the residents in these neighborhoods and towns have ready access to health insurance.

Now, a countdown of the Chicago communities where the most senior citizens have lost all their teeth.

First, Chicago’s neighborhoods:

10. Near West Side (western portion) – 20.9% of people over the age of 65 have lost all their teeth

9.   Grand Boulevard (21.0%)

8.-6.   A “tie” with three Chicago ZIP codes: a) Humboldt Park, b) Hegewisch and c) the ZIP code that contains the combined neighborhoods of Back of the Yards/New City/Fuller Park (all at 21.1%)

5.   The ZIP code that contains the combined neighborhoods of Little Village/North Lawndale/South Lawndale (24.3%)

4.   South Austin (26.7%)

3.   Englewood (western portion) (27.2%)

2.   Englewood (eastern portion) (31.6%)

1.   Homan Square, where 31.7% of all residents 65 and older have lost all their teeth, more than any area of Chicago

All of these are neighborhoods with significant minority populations. But as hard-hit as these Chicago neighborhoods are, there are entire communities outside of Chicago that fare even worse in terms of dental health. 

Here is a countdown of the 10 towns and cities (with populations of at least 1,000 or more) where the most senior citizens have lost all of their teeth:

10. Lake Station, Indiana (23.3% of all residents there, 65 and over, have lost their teeth)

9.   Goodland, Indiana (24.0%)

8.   North Chicago, Illinois (24.2%)

7.   Joliet, Illinois (eastern portion) (24.6%)

6.   Robbins, Illinois (24.9%)

5.   Harvey, Illinois (25.5%)

4.   Monon, Indiana (26.0%)

3.   East Chicago, Indiana (27.5%)

2.   Hammond, Indiana (25.5% in the city’s northwest area; 31.6% in the city’s west area)

1.   Gary, Indiana (where 37.7% of senior residents in Gary’s central area have lost all their teeth.  The percentage for Gary’s other zip codes ranges from 22.5% to 35.1%.)

Again, with a few exceptions, these are all towns that have significant minority populations.

And among those, the city of Gary stands out even more.

We found that residents in various parts of the city of Gary rank the worst -- worse than the even hardest-hit neighborhoods of Chicago -- for coronary heart disease, angina and high blood pressure. Remember, the CDC connects poor dental health to several heart problems.

Gary residents also fare the worst for asthma, COPD, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. And again, the CDC connects poor dental health to some lung problems.

And what about the CDC’s connection between poor dental and smoking? NBC 5 Investigates and Telemundo Chicago Investiga found that, overall, Gary residents smoke at a higher rate than any other town or neighborhood we examined in the entire greater Chicago region.

We found Gary is also the hardest-hit community – harder-hit than even Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods – in terms of residents with arthritis, diabetes, kidney disease, obesity, lack of exercise and lack of sleep.  And more people in Gary report that their physical health and mental health have not been good for at least half of the last month. In Gary’s central region, a full 40% of residents say their general health is "fair" or "poor."

But there’s another pattern NBC 5 and Telemundo found when looking at the local towns and Chicago neighborhoods with high rates of dental problems: Five of the communities with the most tooth loss – Lake Station, North Chicago, Joliet, East Chicago and Hammond – and most of the Chicago neighborhoods with the highest rates of tooth loss -- have significant Hispanic populations. 

And it appears that tooth loss in these towns may be one symptom of a much bigger issue. NBC 5 Investigates and Telemundo Chicago Investiga found the most significant contrast of all, between local Hispanic communities and other towns, is that people in Hispanic communities have the least access of anyone in the greater Chicago area, to health insurance.

In fact, we found that the 33 towns and neighborhoods with the least access to health insurance are ALL communities with significant Hispanic populations. 

Here is a countdown:

31. Chicago’s South Chicago, East Side, and South Deering neighborhoods (28.0%) (tied)

30. Northlake, Illinois (28.5%)

28. Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood and East Chicago, Indiana (28.8%) (tied)

27. Posen, Illinois (29.3%)

26. North Chicago, Illinois (29.4%)

22. Chicago’s neighborhoods of Pilsen, McKinley Park, Lower West Side and Bridgeport (30.5%) (tied)

21. Waukegan, Illinois (south area) (31.4%)

18. Chicago’s neighborhoods of Back of the Yards, New City and Fuller Park (33.0%) (tied)

17. Summit-Argo, Illinois (33.3%)

15. Joliet (east area) and Melrose Park, Illinois (34.3%) (tied)

12. Chicago’s neighborhoods of Marquette Park, West Lawn, and Chicago Lawn (34.8%) (tied)

11. Aurora, Illinois (central area) (35.4%)

9.   Chicago’s neighborhoods of Belmont-Cragin and Hermosa (35.8%) (tied)

6.   Chicago’s neighborhoods of Brighton Park, Gage Park and Archer Heights (38.4%) (tied)

5.   Cicero, Illinois (38.9%)

2. Chicago’s neighborhoods of Little Village, North Lawndale, and South Lawndale (39.1%) (tied)

1. Stone Park, Illinois (41.2% of adults there do not have access to insurance coverage – the most of any community in the greater Chicago area.)

In all, NBC5 Investigates and Telemundo Chicago Investiga found that 78 out of the 100 towns and neighborhoods with the least access to health insurance have significant Hispanic populations. 

It’s possible that this lack of health insurance may be connected to the number of people in these communities who are undocumented, or who are in the process of gaining American citizenship. But whatever the reason, we've found this lack of insurance correlates directly with a community’s rate of all kinds of other diseases, as well as the ability for community members to keep up with health-screenings and visits to both doctors and dentists.