Oral health-related quality of life

General dental practice is ideally positioned to improve the oral health of communities. This has been recognised by the Department of Health (DH) in England, and therefore Improving Oral Health with the New Dental Contract has been distributed to all NHS general dental practitioners (DH, 2006). It is acknowledged that inequality in oral health and access to dental services are two major challenges for NHS dentistry in the UK (DH, 2000). Preventive approaches are key to improving oral health so that subgroups traditionally experiencing high levels of oral disease are treated appropriately (Department of Health and the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry, 2007).