Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have become a key tool in identifying genetic variants associated with complex diseases, including oral health conditions. This article discusses the prospects and challenges of applying GWAS to oral health research. GWAS involves testing a large number of genetic variants for association with a specific outcome, and has been successful in identifying novel genetic variants linked to oral health outcomes such as cleft lip and palate, dental caries, and tooth eruption. However, GWAS has limitations, including weak effect sizes of individual SNPs, genetic heterogeneity, and the challenge of interpreting results. Additionally, the "missing heritability" problem remains, where the cumulative effect of associated variants explains only a fraction of the total genetic variance. Despite these challenges, GWAS has the potential to uncover new biological pathways and mechanisms affecting oral health. The field of oral health research is poised to make significant progress in genomics, with opportunities to learn from other fields and apply best practices in genetic discovery. Challenges include careful phenotype assessment, designing studies to account for regulatory variation and gene-environment interactions, and developing innovative methods to analyze genetic data. Collaboration and standardization are essential for large-scale GWAS studies in oral health. Overall, GWAS offers a promising avenue for understanding the genetic basis of oral health conditions, but requires careful interpretation and further research to fully realize its potential.Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have become a key tool in identifying genetic variants associated with complex diseases, including oral health conditions. This article discusses the prospects and challenges of applying GWAS to oral health research. GWAS involves testing a large number of genetic variants for association with a specific outcome, and has been successful in identifying novel genetic variants linked to oral health outcomes such as cleft lip and palate, dental caries, and tooth eruption. However, GWAS has limitations, including weak effect sizes of individual SNPs, genetic heterogeneity, and the challenge of interpreting results. Additionally, the "missing heritability" problem remains, where the cumulative effect of associated variants explains only a fraction of the total genetic variance. Despite these challenges, GWAS has the potential to uncover new biological pathways and mechanisms affecting oral health. The field of oral health research is poised to make significant progress in genomics, with opportunities to learn from other fields and apply best practices in genetic discovery. Challenges include careful phenotype assessment, designing studies to account for regulatory variation and gene-environment interactions, and developing innovative methods to analyze genetic data. Collaboration and standardization are essential for large-scale GWAS studies in oral health. Overall, GWAS offers a promising avenue for understanding the genetic basis of oral health conditions, but requires careful interpretation and further research to fully realize its potential.