The Common Risk Factor Approach (CRFA) to Oral Health Promotion
The Mouth-Body Connection

The mouth and body are viewed as separate biologic entities by many Americans. Traditionally medicine and dentistry have been seen as fields unrelated to each other. Medicine and dentistry are studied in different schools and have separate professional associations but both professions are related by human anatomy. Published in 2000, Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General was the first time a Surgeon General addressed the important connection between oral health and general health.¹⁵ The report stated that “oral health is a critical component of overall health and must be included in the provision of health care and the design of community programs.” David Satcher, the former Surgeon General, in the preface of Oral Health in America advocated for the construction of a “framework for action that integrates oral health into overall health.”¹⁶

The WHO declares, “Oral health promotion and oral disease prevention should embrace what is termed ‘the common risk factor approach,’ leading to the integration of oral health promotion into broader health promotion.”¹⁷ International and national organizations agree the CRFA framework is the most effective method for health promotion.