[Oral medicine in Israel: Current status and future directions]

The oral cavity-body relationships are bi-directional: oral diseases affect the welfare and health of the individual, while diseases and conditions of organs and tissues in the human body affect oral health. The global policy of the World Health Organization is to improve oral health in the 21st century as an integral part of promoting our general health. During the recent years the knowledge of the dental profession has grown exponentially and widened its fields of interest and this has led to impressive advances at both clinical and research levels. Oral medicine, which is a recognized, licensed specialty in Israel, is a definite example that reflects this process. In the last decade residency programs in oral medicine are in the process of constant increased demand. The authors discuss this trend and comment on the need to maintain excellence in this specialty.