Oral care in the brazilian primary health care system

Abstract

Background: Brazilian National Health System (SUS) was created in 1988 and has its primary health care organized by the Family Health Strategy (FHS), which includes, for dental assistance, the Oral Health Team (OHT). The great impetus to the expansion of oral health actions in the FHS occurred after 2003, with the Smiling Brazil Program. Nowadays, there are approximately 35000 Family Health Teams (FHT) in the country. Despite the fast expansion nationwide, changes in the oral health care model cannot be guaranteed. This is due to the fact that, the expansion of the program itself does not assure the necessary changes in the reorganization of primary care actions that should be based on a new conception of the health-disease process. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the quality of service of the OHT in a large northeastern Brazilian city from the perspective of professionals of the FHT. Methods: Cross-sectional and descriptive study conducted in the Family Healthcare Basic Unit (FHBU) of Fortaleza-CE. Data was collected through structured interview. Results: Data collection instrument was applied to 188 professionals: 30 Physicians, 57 nurses and 101 dentists, 70.8% were women. Mean age was 33.6 (± 5.9) years. The average grade for dental care was 7.34 (± 1.47) and for communication between FHS and OHT was 7.3 (± 2), 98.4% asserted that this communication aids on the community health care. 67.4% of professionals said that they were satisfied with the service offered to patients in FHBU. 81.4% believed to be well trained to work in the FHS. Nevertheless, 36.8% would like to take up a master’s degree in Public Health in order to improve their work in the FHT. Conclusion: It is concluded that health professionals believe that the dental services provided within the FHS are of good quality and that they are well trained for the work.