The Lancet Oral Health Series: Implications for Oral and Dental Research

摘要

"Oral health matters" was the clear and emphatic message on the front cover of The Lancet on July 20, 2019. In this single issue of The Lancet, in addition to the front cover, oral health was the focus of an editorial {The Lancet 2019), an Oral Health Series comprising 2 major papers (Peres et al. 2019; Watt et al. 2019), 2 associated commentaries (Beaglehole and Beaglehole 2019; Kearns and Bero 2019), a perspective piece on the historical origins of modern dentistry (Barnett 2019), and aprofile of a dental public health researcher (Davies 2019). Never before in the 196-year history of The Lancet—one of the most prestigious medical journals in the world—has oral health been given such a high profile. This is, without doubt, a watershed moment for global oral health. It is also, however, a profoundly important opportunity for the oral and dental research community. This commentary highlights the key messages from The Lancet Oral Health Series and considers the implications for the oral and dental research agenda globally.