Promoting A Lifespan Approach to Oral Health and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life

Oral health profoundly impacts overall health and quality of life, affecting everything from nutrition to social interaction and self-esteem. Poor oral hygiene is not only linked to localized disorders but also systemic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, and can affect pregnancy outcomes and cognitive functions in elderly populations. There is also a profound influence of social determinants like income, education, and accessibility to nutritious food and healthcare, which results in notable disparities in oral health across different stages of life. This Research Topic aims to foster a comprehensive understanding of how these factors interplay across the lifespan, assessing the effectiveness of existing policies, and identifying vital intervention points to improve oral health-related quality of life.

The goal of this Research Topic is to underscore the integral role of oral health in overall well-being and to devise interventions that are tailored to various life stages and socio-economic contexts. By exploring oral health from a lifespan perspective, we seek to uncover critical insights into how oral health impacts and is impacted by an individual's life course and socio-economic circumstances.

To deepen our understanding in this area, this Research Topic welcomes submissions that explore, but are not limited to, the following areas:

- Pediatric Oral Health: the importance of early dental care in preventing childhood dental issues and the impact of parental practices on oral health.

- Adolescent Dental Care: challenges related to orthodontics and complex dental problems in teenagers, including the influences of diet and social media.

- Adult Oral Health Maintenance: strategies for managing common periodontal diseases and their systemic correlations, and economic analyses of adult dental care.

- Oral Health in the Elderly: innovative treatments for managing age-related oral health challenges and the role of caregivers in improving outcomes for dependent seniors.

- Social Determinants and Disparities: investigation into how socioeconomic status and educational background affect oral health across the lifespan.

- Policy Initiatives and Implementation: evaluations of public health policies like community water fluoridation and their impact on oral health, alongside case studies on effective oral health initiatives.

We encourage submissions from a broad range of disciplines including dental researchers, healthcare providers, policymakers, and social scientists dedicated to a holistic exploration of oral health throughout the human lifecycle.

Keywords: oral health, quality of life, pediatric dental care, adolescent dental health, adult periodontal disease, elderly oral care, oral health disparities, socioeconomic impact on oral health, public oral health policy, dental care access, OHRQOL

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.