Integrating Oral Health Surveillance for Health Protection, Equity, and Preparedness

Surveillance is a foundational function of public health, enabling the systematic collection, analysis, and dissemination of health data to plan prevention, preparedness, and policy action. Historically developed in response to infectious disease threats, surveillance systems have progressively expanded to encompass chronic conditions, risk factors, and population vulnerabilities. However, oral health surveillance has often remained fragmented, isolated from broader public health monitoring frameworks, and underutilized in decision-making processes.Oral health shares common risk factors with major non-communicable diseases and provides early signals of systemic health conditions, making it a sensitive indicator of population health and health system performance. Integrating oral health into comprehensive surveillance systems offers opportunities to improve health protection, strengthen preparedness, and address health inequities. Recent advances in digital health, artificial intelligence, and non-invasive biomarkers further expand the potential of oral health surveillance as an active, rather than descriptive, public health tool.Despite growing recognition of oral health as a key determinant of overall health, oral health surveillance remains insufficiently integrated into public health systems and preparedness frameworks. Current surveillance approaches are often fragmented, focused on isolated indicators, and inadequately linked to decision-making, equity, and health protection strategies. This limits the ability of health systems to identify early warning signals, respond to emerging risks, and reduce persistent inequalities.The goal of this Research Topic is to advance a systems-oriented vision of oral health surveillance that supports health protection, equity, and preparedness across the life course. By bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives and recent methodological innovations, this collection aims to redefine oral health surveillance as a dynamic public health function that informs prevention, guides policy, and strengthens health system resilience. Ultimately, the Research Topic aims to contribute to a more integrated and equitable approach to population health, where oral health surveillance plays a central and actionable role.This Research Topic aims to explore oral health surveillance as an integral component of public health surveillance and health protection systems. Contributions should focus on conceptual, methodological, and applied perspectives that position oral health surveillance within integrated health systems, rather than as a standalone clinical domain.Relevant themes include, but are not limited to:• Integration of oral health indicators into national and international surveillance systems• Oral health surveillance for health equity and reduction of disparities• Surveillance-informed preparedness and resilience of health systems• Use of digital tools, artificial intelligence, and innovative data sources in oral health surveillance• Saliva and other non-invasive approaches as surveillance tools• Governance, interoperability, and data integration challenges• Translation of surveillance data into policy and prevention strategiesThe Research Topic welcomes original research articles, reviews, conceptual papers, and policy-oriented contributions. Moreover, the research topic is relevant to researchers, policymakers, and practitioners working at the intersection of oral health, public health surveillance, and health system strengthening. Topic editors: Marco Dettori, Ana Petar Vukovic, Guglielmo Campus Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77373/integrating-oral-health-surveillance-for-health-protection-equity-and-preparedness