Oral health is fundamental to general health and well being. Oral diseases qualify as major public health problems owing to their high prevalence and incidence in all regions of the world, as for all diseases, the greatest burden of oral diseases is on disadvantaged and socially marginalized populations. Oral health promotion is any planned effort to build healthy public policies, create supportive environments, strengthen community action, develop personal skills or reorient health services in the pursuit of oral health goals. The core aim of oral health promotion is to achieve sustainable improvements in oral health through multidisciplinary action.The success of health promotion largely depends upon developing partnerships across agencies and, most importantly, actively involving local people in the whole process of health promotion. The synergy between preventively oriented general dental practitioners and oral health promotion teams offer the best opportunity for improving the nation's oral health. So this review of literature outlines the history, basic principles, approaches of oral health promotion and their applications.