Transforming women's health across the lifespan: Calling for an oral/systemic paradigm shift

Background: Women's health emerged as a national priority late in the 20th century. Women's health issues include those that a) are unique to, more prevalent in, or more serious in women; (b) have risk factors and health outcomes specific to women; and/or c) require interventions unique to women. One area of women's health that has received scant attention overall is oral health – specifically the oral-systemic relationship, which presents in 1) conditions specific to women that impact oral health (menstruation, pregnancy, menopause, osteoporosis, oral contraceptives), 2) morbidities exacerbated by poor oral health (heart disease, diabetes, stroke), and 3) oral manifestations of behavioral issues more common among women (intimate partner violence, eating disorders). Statement of the Problem: While the oral/systemic connection is clear from the existing literature, a comprehensive, collaborative approach to women's health based on this connection does not exist in practice. Women's health care across the lifespan is frequently conducted in clinical practice, teaching, and research in “silos” within disciplines/practice areas, and dichotomized into reproductive and non-reproductive issues, resulting in a disjointed, narrow approach. Proposing a New Paradigm: As an interdisciplinary field, a public health approach utilizing a transdisciplinary team, systems approach to address the oral/systemic connection to women's health is needed. We propose an innovative strategy to reduce disciplinary silos, generate a new language, and determine the most effective strategies, programs, systems, training, and advocacy that will bridge the oral/systemic health of women throughout the lifespan, with the overall goal of decreasing morbidity and increasing quality of life.