Oral health should be an integral part of general healthcare, says new white paper
It calls for closer collaboration between dental, medical, public-health and social-care professionals
Oral health can no longer be treated separately from general health, according to a new white paper from the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) and the European Association of Dental Public Health (EADPH). The white paper calls for closer collaboration between dental, medical, public-health and social-care professionals.
Oral health and systemic health outcomes: a call for interdisciplinary action, developed by a joint EFP/ EADPH working group supported by Oral-B, brings together evidence from periodontology, medicine and dental public health and sets out recommendations for clinical practice, policy, education and research.
Oral diseases affect around 3.5 billion people worldwide. The white paper highlights that they share important, modifiable risk factors (including free sugar, tobacco and alcohol consumption, as well as social and commercial determinants) with major non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Inadequate oral hygiene represents an additional oral-specific risk factor.
The authors argue that this common ground makes a strong case for integrating oral health into general health strategies, through a common risk factor approach, rather that managing diseases in separate silos. Action is needed at multiple levels, from policies addressing the wider determinants of health, to community prevention and individual clinical care.
Among oral diseases, periodontitis currently has the strongest evidence for interactions with overall health. Associations have been demonstrated between gum disease and several systemic conditions, although the strength and nature of the evidence vary. Importantly, treatment of periodontitis has been shown to improve glycaemic control in people with diabetes and to improve inflammatory and vascular surrogate markers, while evidence for an effect on major clinical events remains limited.
The white paper concludes with a clear call for shared responsibility: oral health should be integrated into general healthcare through sustained collaboration between dental and medical professional, public health authorities, educators, policymakers, patients and communities.
Moritz Kebschull, principal author of the paper and past president of the EFP, said: “Oral health deserves a place within a more integrated approach to patient care. Periodontitis is preventable and treatable, and we have good evidence that treating inflammation in the gums can also benefit important systemic outcomes, particularly glycaemic control in people with diabetes. Greater awareness, appropriate screening and referral between dental and medical teams could therefore make a meaningful difference to patients.”