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Better health begins with more than access to care. It begins with prevention, understanding, and having a voice.

As we welcome October, National Dental Hygiene Month, Health Literacy Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, World Mental Health Day, and National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day each bring attention to different aspects of health and well-being. Together, they remind us of the importance of helping people understand their health, participate in decisions about their care, and access the prevention, information, and support they need.

Across oral health and healthcare more broadly, these connections matter. Prevention can help people stay healthier, clear communication can help them make informed decisions, and listening to individual and community experiences can help create care that better responds to people's needs. This October, these observances offer an opportunity to consider how bringing prevention, understanding, and voice together can help build a more connected and responsive approach to whole-person health.

From Conversation to Action:
Share Your Story

The work sparked by the 2026 National Convening, Oral Health as a Pathway to Wellness and Longevity, is moving into its next phase. The Santa Fe Group continues to work with participants and partners to build on the ideas, connections, and opportunities that emerged from our time together in Washington, D.C.

As part of this ongoing initiative, we invite you to contribute to the Story Bank by sharing real-world examples of oral and whole-person health integration in action. Stories may highlight a successful partnership, a meaningful change in care, or an experience that demonstrates what is working and what is possible.

Have a story to share? We would love to hear from you. All details will be anonymized, and we will contact you for permission before sharing your story.

JOURNALS, REPORTS & WHITE PAPERS

New Sepsis Guidelines Seek to Reduce Infection’s Deadly Toll

New national sepsis guidelines aim to strengthen hospital care and infection prevention. Notably, they include standardized daily toothbrushing to help reduce hospital-acquired pneumonia, highlighting oral care’s role in patient safety and whole-person health.

Periodontal Medicine 2.0: A Framework for Integrated, Patient-Centred Care

A new paper explores the evolving relationship between periodontal and systemic health and proposes a framework for translating the evidence into more integrated, patient-centered care. It highlights opportunities to connect oral health more closely with broader healthcare while maintaining a careful, evidence-based approach.

The Oral and Systemic Health Risks of Sugar Consumption: An Umbrella Review

This new review examines evidence linking sugar consumption with both oral and systemic health outcomes, including dental disease, obesity, and cardiometabolic risk factors, reinforcing the connections between oral health and overall health.

Integrating Oral Health into Planetary Health Governance

This paper examines how climate change and extreme weather can affect oral healthcare, from infrastructure and water systems to workforce access. It proposes a framework for building more resilient, equitable, and sustainable oral health systems.

AROUND THE WORLD

New White Paper Calls for Oral Health to Be Integrated into General Healthcare

A new European white paper launched at the 2026 Oral Health Research Congress in Lisbon calls for stronger integration of oral health into general healthcare. Developed by leading European periodontal and dental public health organizations, it offers recommendations for greater collaboration across clinical practice, policy, education, and research.

MUST LISTEN

UPCOMING EVENTS

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