Since oral health affects general health by causing significant pain and suffering, changing what people eat, how they speak, and the quality of their quality of life, the compartmentalization of viewing the mouth separately from the rest of the body needs to end. Other chronic diseases are influenced by oral health. Millions of people suffer from intractable toothaches, poor quality of life, and end up with few teeth as a result of a failure to address social and material causes and incorporate oral health into general health promotion.
