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Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
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Towards understanding oral health
Egija Zaura1, Jacob M ten Cate
1Department of Preventive Dentistry Amsterdam, Academic Center for Dentistry Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Caries Research
|April 15, 2015
Summary
Oral health is redefined as the oral ecosystem's ability to adapt to physiological changes, known as allostasis. Understanding these complex interactions is key to maintaining oral well-being throughout life.
Area of Science:
- Oral biology
- Microbiome research
- Health sciences
Background:
- Traditional oral health definitions focus on disease absence.
- Oral microbial homeostasis describes microbial stability in health.
- The oral ecosystem is dynamic, influenced by life stages.
Purpose of the Study:
- To apply the principle of allostasis to the oral ecosystem.
- To explore host factors influencing oral allostasis.
- To propose a system approach for understanding oral health.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual application of allostasis to oral health.
- Illustration with examples of physiological changes (e.g., puberty).
- Discussion of host factors, microbiome, saliva, and host response.
Main Results:
- Oral health is proposed as the capacity for allostasis within the oral ecosystem.
- Multidimensional interactions between host factors are crucial.
- Current understanding is limited to individual components.
Conclusions:
- A comprehensive understanding of oral health requires a system approach.
- Investigating multidimensional interactions is essential for developing rational health maintenance strategies.
- Large-scale, multidisciplinary collaborations are needed to address research challenges.
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