Bidirectional Impact of Oral Health and General Health

Oral manifestations of systemic disease or its treatment have been the subject of an extensive body of biomedical literature; several textbooks cover the subject in great detail (1,2). More recently, the impact of oral health on systemic health and disease has been the subject of intense investigation, leading to provocative ideas about oral risk factors for systemic disease and novel approaches to health promotion and disease prevention. This collective understanding of the reciprocal oral and systemic risks for disease will require, more than ever before, an expanded scope of dental, medical, and nutrition professional training to achieve competency in risk assessment and risk reduction. Translation into practice will require consultation among and collaboration between clinicians and should lead to innovative health care delivery systems that efficiently bring these caregivers and services to the patient.