The impact of oral health on the populations well-being

Abstract

According to Bendo et al. (2014), Dentistry used to only address the association between oral alterations and their risk factors. However, in Modern Dentistry, there has been a concern in investigating the impact of oral problems on people's quality of life. It is already a fact that oral diseases can affect diet, communication, sleep, but also have a strong impact on the emotional and social well-being of individuals. Social interaction and self-esteem problems are common in people with oral problems, resulting in damage to the quality of life of those affected. In today's society, managed, in many cases, by marketing the personal image on social networks, always taking into account good physical appearance, oral problems can have severe impacts on a person's socialization. According to Petersen (2003), all individuals must have dignified oral health conditions, allowing them to chew, speak, smile, live without pain, as well as have social relationships without any embarrassment due to their oral condition. However, the world is still far from the idea that all individuals have this dignity of oral health. According to the World Health Organization, there is still a very consistent association between socioeconomic power and oral health quality, causing oral problems to affect mainly the most vulnerable population. Thus, the poorest population ends up being even more excluded from society and losing even more well-being and quality of life due to their oral condition. Therefore, it can be concluded that oral health has great impacts on the well-being of individuals.