Bridging the Gap: Social Determinants, Lifestyle Habits, and Oral Health Inequity

Oral health inequities remain a persistent public health challenge, with substantial differences in oral health outcomes, access to dental care, and service utilization across social groups. These disparities reflect the complex interplay between social determinants of health—including socioeconomic conditions, ethnicity, education, employment, and geographical context—and individual lifestyle and health-related behaviours. Although evidence continues to demonstrate unequal burdens of dental caries, periodontal diseases, and oral cancer, the pathways linking structural conditions, behaviours, and oral health outcomes remain incompletely understood. A more integrated investigation is therefore needed to inform effective and equitable public health responses.This Research Topic aims to advance understanding of how social determinants and lifestyle habits interact to shape oral health inequities across the life course, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood and older age. It will consider evidence from populations with diverse socioeconomic, ethnic, cultural, and geographical characteristics, while examining both clinical and patient-reported dimensions of oral health. By clarifying the mechanisms through which structural factors influence health behaviours and oral health outcomes, this Research Topic seeks to support the development and evaluation of targeted, evidence-based strategies that promote equitable access to oral healthcare and improve population oral health.To gather further insights into the social, behavioural, and structural drivers of oral health inequities across the life course, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:- Social determinants associated with disparities in dental caries, periodontal diseases, oral cancer, and other oral conditions- Inequities in access to, affordability of, and utilization of preventive and curative dental services- Self-rated oral health, oral health-related quality of life, and other patient-reported outcomes- Lifestyle habits and health-related behaviours, including diet, tobacco and alcohol use, oral hygiene, and patterns of care-seeking- Pathways linking social and structural conditions to individual behaviours and oral health outcomes- Intersectionality and the cumulative effects of socioeconomic, ethnic, geographical, and other forms of disadvantage- Differences in oral health inequities across age groups and population settings- Evaluation of community-based, preventive, and policy interventions designed to reduce oral health disparities- Methods for measuring, monitoring, and addressing oral health inequities- Policy and practice approaches supporting universal and equitable oral healthcareWe welcome Original Research, Systematic Reviews, and Policy and Practice Reviews that provide empirical evidence, methodological advances, or critical synthesis relevant to these themes. Topic editors: Taifeng Du, Amr Sayed Ghanem Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85877/bridging-the-gap-social-determinants-lifestyle-habits-and-oral-health-inequity