The Role of Interprofessional Education in Oral Health Promotion from Pregnancy to Early Childhood: Narrative Review

Abstract Oral health is integral to general health and vice versa and should be viewed as such. Therefore, interprofessional collaboration in oral health is essential for enhancing overall systemic health, preventing dental diseases, and promoting oral health awareness among expectant families and young children. This narrative review provides an overview of critical aspects of interprofessional collaboration in promoting oral health from pregnancy to early childhood. A comprehensive search using electronic databases was conducted for publications from 2014 to 2024. The authors included studies that assessed the role of interprofessional education (IPE) and practices in oral health care and recommended the best IPE practices to achieve optimal oral health in children. Several oral health conditions may occur during pregnancy. Yet, many pregnant women are unaware of the importance of prenatal and postnatal oral care and that seeking regular or emergency dental care is safe. Interprofessional collaboration in oral health promotion needs to be improved in many ways to help increase awareness and address dental problems for pregnant women and young children. IPE and practice can enable effective communication between health care professionals and critically contribute to optimal oral health in children and overall well-being in pregnancy and early childhood.