Oral infections: impact on human health, well-being, and health-care costs.

Both caries and periodontal disease as well as many diseases of the mucous membranes, tongue, and salivary glands are infectious. If left untreated or inadequately treated, they have profound systemic as well as local effects. Maintenance of oral health goes beyond the physiological needs of proper nutritional intake and protection of the oral tissues. It also includes protection against oral sources of systemic infection and encompasses a range of social and psychological attributes. The rising expectations of patients in the pursuit of comfort and esthetics has provided evidence of the oral contribution to quality of life. Oral infections and their sequela account for the major portion of annual dental expenditures.