Oral Health and Stroke: The Overlooked Connection and Its Implications forComprehensive Care

Stroke is a major cause of death and disability in the world. While hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, etc., arewell-known risk factors, the relationship between oral health and stroke is rarely discussed. Emerging evidencesuggests that poor oral health, particularly periodontal disease, significantly increases stroke risk throughmechanisms such as systemic inflammation, bacterial invasion, and endothelial dysfunction. This paper examinesthese pathophysiological processes and reviews clinical findings from epidemiological studies and interventiontrials. It emphasizes the need for stroke prevention and management using a multifaceted model that includesdental evaluation as part of general health check-ups. Neurology, cardiology, dentistry, pharmacology, psychology,and physical education are the specialties that should be involved in the comprehensive care model, therebyallowing meeting all the needs of comprehensive stroke prevention and management. The conclusion highlightsthe need to consider oral health in stroke prevention and looks forward to continued funding and implementation ofresearch studies as well as public health interventions to enhance patient care and, consequently, avert more strokeincidences worldwide.

Keywords:

stroke , oral health , periodontal disease , multidisciplinary care , preventive medicine , comprehensive healthcare