The Mountain State ranks second worst in the nation, ahead of only Mississippi when it comes to overall dental health. The study looked at 26 individual metrics. The individual rankings below show what led to the overall ranking.

Dental Health in West Virginia (1=Best; 25=Avg.):

18th – % of Adolescents Who Visited a Dentist in the Past Year

29th – Dental Treatment Costs

37th – % of Adults with Poor or Fair Oral Condition

44th – Dentists per Capita

41st – Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption

49th – % of Adults Who Experienced Oral Pain in the Past Year

49th – % of Adults with Low Life Satisfaction Due to Their Oral Condition

50th – % Of Adults Who Visited a Dentist in the Past Year

51st – % Of Adult Smokers

51st – % Of Elderly Population with No Natural Teeth

Joining Mississippi and West Virginia in the bottom five are: Arkansas, Montana and Louisiana.

The top five states in the report are: Wisconsin, Illinois, Washington, D.C., Minnesota and Connecticut.