Impact of Poor Oral Health on Overall Health: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Suboptimal oral health is a very common but often ignored societal health issue with serious overall health consequences. Dental caries, periodontal disease, and tooth loss, as oral diseases, impact billions of people around the globe and have been identified as drivers of systemic inflammation, chronic disease development, and poor quality of life. This systematic review presents the modern peer-reviewed evidence on the relationship between poor oral health and systemic health outcomes. Predefined keywords related to the topics of oral health and systemic disease were used to search databases such as PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, and Google Scholar. It included 15 high-quality peer-reviewed studies, such as systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and extensive population-based studies. The results show that there are consistent relationships between poor oral health and cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, respiratory illnesses, poor pregnancy outcomes, and elevated mortality. Some of the biological processes that relate to oral and systemic health are chronic inflammation, microbial translocation, and immune dysregulation. The review emphasizes the need to incorporate oral health in primary care, chronic diseases, and health policy. Oral health care is vital in the enhancement of population health, solving health disparities, and providing holistic and patient-centered care.