The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and risk indicators for erosive tooth wear (ETW) in Brazilian preschool children. A total of 967 children aged 3–4 years were examined. ETW was assessed using a modified version of the index recommended by O’Brien [London, Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, 1994]. The 16 examiners were trained and calibrated. Hierarchical logistic regression was applied to investigate the association between ETW and socio-economic, environmental, nutritional and behavioural factors, as well as factors related to the child’s characteristics. ETW was present in 51.6% of children. Most lesions were confined to enamel (93.9%) and involved over two thirds of the tooth surface’s area (82%). There were no significant associations between ETW and socio-economic, environmental and nutritional variables. ETW was significantly associated with soft drink intake twice or 3 or more times a day (p = 0.043 and 0.023, respectively), frequent reported gastro-oesophageal reflux (p = 0.005) and age (p = 0.003). In conclusion, there was a high prevalence of ETW in the preschool children examined, and the risk indicators were frequent consumption of soft drinks, reported gastro-oesophageal reflux and age.

Study conducted to support the planning and implementation of public policies on human health resources. Fourteen undergraduate health courses were analyzed: biomedicine, biological sciences, physical education, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, speech and language therapy, medicine, veterinary medicine, nutrition, dentistry, psychology, social work and occupational therapy between 1991 and 2008. Data on number of students admitted, college admission rates, rates of graduating student by inhabitant, gender, geographic area and family income were collected from the Brazilian Ministry of Education database. For medicine undergraduate programs there were 40 applicants per place at public institutions and 10 at private ones. Most students admitted were females. The Southeast region concentrated 57% of graduating students. The study revealed trends that indicates opportunity inequalities in the regional distribution of health professional education, thus supporting the need for policies aimed at reducing such inequalities.

Purpose/objectives To investigate dental students’ perceptions and concerns regarding the COVID‐19 pandemic, their coping strategies and support resources, and their perceived stress levels. Methods A customized 19‐item survey and the perceived stress scale (PSS) were applied to undergraduate dental students from the US, Spain, Ireland, Chile, India, and Brazil between April 10 and July 5, 2020. Linear modeling and mediation analysis were used to explore the relationships among demographics, stressors, coping mechanisms, social support, and stress Results A total of 4475 students responded to the survey. The majority (72.4%) were women, and 52.3% had no COVID‐19 training at the time of the survey. The students reported that they had to accommodate to changes in patient care (96.6%) and didactic learning (95.2%) activities, while 88.5% of the respondents indicated at least one of their courses moved online. Transition to online courses went “smoothly with some troubles” for 51.8% of the respondents, and 48.3% perceived the faculty as prepared for the online transition; however, 45.9% reported feeling extremely concerned about the impact of COVID‐19 on their education. The average PSS score was 21.9 of 40 (moderate stress). Multivariate models were built for participants with full data (n = 3899). Being male, having completed more dental coursework, and perceiving a smoother transition were associated with lower PSS scores; more concern about academic progress was associated with higher PSS. Faculty support mediated the relationship between a smoothness of transition and concern about academic progress and PSS scores Conclusion Stress caused by the pandemic may be alleviated by smoother transition and good faculty support.

The Program is effective on reducing the incidence and promoting regression of initial caries lesions in children.

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Telehealth has been applied in the Unified Health System (SUS) as a tool for qualifying professionals and improving the healthcare provided to the population served by the system. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of teleconsultations on the qualifications of the clinical approach of the oral health teams involved in primary health care (PHC) in the state of Rio Grande do Sul under the Telehealth Brazil Networks Programme. The sample population of the study was composed of 285 dentists and 132 oral health assistants belonging to the Family Health Teams. A chi-square test was used to investigate possible associations between the absolute number of teleconsultations performed and several independent variables, namely, gender, age, dental specialty, time since graduation, time working in the Family Health Strategy (FHS), employment status, type of training institution, familiarity with information technology, and work satisfaction at the health facility. The level of significance was p < 0.05. Use of the oral health teleconsultation service led to a reduction of more than 45% in the number of referrals to other levels of care. However, no significant association was found between the number of teleconsultations and the independent variables analysed. The use of teleconsultations proved to be a powerful tool for professional training, for increasing the effectiveness of PHC, and for improving the oral healthcare provided.

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