Oral health is important to overall health. Dental decay and gum disease may and often does lead to pain, infection and tooth loss. It may and often does lead to difficulty eating and maintaining nutrition. It may and often negatively affects personal dignity, self-respect, employability and social connectedness, but it also increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, respiratory diseases and pre-term and low-birth-weight babies. The health of our teeth and gums is directly linked to our overall physical health and mental health and our social and community well-being.