Social capital and oral health promotion: Past, present, and future challenges

Social capital has been widely inserted in health discussions in recent decades. In this sense, social capital has become a popular term and has been highlighted as one of the main determinants of health in the conceptual framework of the social determinants of the World Health Organization. The concept of social capital focuses on the positive consequences of sociability and places these consequences in the broader discussion of capital. In this sense, social capital reflects the benefits that individuals and communities derive from having broad social networks or high levels of social trust. Despite controversies regarding its definition and numerous criticisms, a growing body of evidence…