Contextualized educational activities in the school routine had positive effects on oral hygiene and the level of information about oral health, although the more informed individuals did not always practice better oral hygiene.

BackgroundThe chronic cumulative nature of caries makes treatment needs a severe problem in adults. Despite the fact that oral diseases occur in social contexts, there are few studies using multilevel analyses focusing on treatment needs. Thus, considering the importance of context in explaining oral health related inequalities, this study aims to evaluate the social determinants of dental treatment needs in 35–44 year old Brazilian adults, assessing whether inequalities in needs are expressed at individual and contextual levels.MethodsThe dependent variables were based on the prevalence of normative dental treatment needs in adults: (a) restorative treatment; (b) tooth extraction and (c) prosthetic treatment. The independent variables at first level were household income, formal education level, sex and race. At second level, income, sanitation, infrastructure and house conditions. The city-level variables were the Human Development Index (HDI) and indicators related to health services. Exploratory analysis was performed evaluating the effect of each level through calculating Prevalence Ratios (PR). In addition, a three-level multilevel modelling was constructed for all outcomes to verify the effect of individual characteristics and also the influence of context.ResultsIn relation to the need for restorative treatment, the main factors implicated were related to individual socioeconomic position, however the city-level contextual effect should also be considered. Regarding need for tooth extraction, the contextual effect does not seem to be important and, in relation to the needs for prosthetic treatment, the final model showed effect of individual-level and city-level. Variables related to health services did not show significant effects.ConclusionsDental treatment needs related to primary care (restoration and tooth extraction) and secondary care (prosthesis) were strongly associated with individual socioeconomic position, mainly income and education, in Brazilian adults. In addition to this individual effect, a city-level contextual effect, represented by HDI, was also observed for need for restorations and prosthesis, but not for tooth extractions. These findings have important implications for the health policy especially for financing and planning, since the distribution of oral health resources must consider the inequalities in availability and affordability of dental care for all.

A relationship involving respect and professionals really listening to their clients makes the difference in health provision; however, the complaints made must also be considered for effective embracement of the service being provided in the BHU. Investment must be made in BHU physical infrastructure allowing professionals to work better and making the BHU more comfortable for their users.

A partir de uma breve retrospectiva sobre o direito à saúde conquistado pelo cidadão brasileiro, este artigo tem como objetivo discorrer sobre o Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) ao longo da sua trajetória de 20 anos, destacando em forma de análise crítica os avanços conquistados na saúde e os desafios a serem superados. São discutidas as temáticas do direito à saúde como responsabilidade do Estado a partir da Conferência de Alma-Ata, da Constituição Federal e das Leis Orgânicas da Saúde; as diretrizes do SUS envolvendo as competências da União, do Estado e do Município. Discute ainda a importância da Estratégia Saúde da Família na consolidação da Atenção Básica no Brasil, as dificuldades do processo de regionalização e o papel da gestão e da participação social como bases para a construção do SUS que queremos. Palavras-chave:

Dental caries levels have declined in children since the 1970s in many countries. Most of the postulated main reasons for the decline are speculative and have not been rigorously evaluated. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between some social factors and the decline in dental caries in Brazilian 12-year-old children from 1996 to 2010. Secondary analysis of national data was performed in 27 Brazilian state capitals. A panel data regression model with fixed effects and multiple linear regression were used to verify the relationship between the explanatory and the dependent variables and also the time-trend effect. The results showed that the DMFT (decayed, missing, and filled teeth) decreased by about 3% per year, and the percentage of caries-free children increased by 4.5% per year. For DMFT and percentage caries free, the results for the panel data regression showed a significant association for the Human Development Index (HDI) in the adjusted model (p = 0.010). When the overall changes over time were compared, the Gini index had a significant association with the overall change in DMFT in the final model of the multiple regression analysis (p = 0.033). Our results indicate that the maintenance of good levels of human development, which includes better education, income, and longevity, are important factors relating to improving levels of oral health in 12-year-old Brazilian children. However, to accelerate this process in cities with the worst caries situation, income inequality should be tackled.

RESUMOObjetivo Fundamentado no sistema de referência e contra referência e na integralidade na atenção à saúde bucal, objetivou-se analisar formas de encaminhamento aos Centros de Especialidades Odontológicas (CEO) e a interface entre estes e a Atenção Básica. Métodos Trata-se de um estudo transversal desenvolvido com usuários e dentistas dos CEO de uma região Metropolitana do Nordeste do Brasil. As análises foram do tipo descritiva e teste de associação pelo qui-quadrado. Resultados Seis formas de ingresso ao serviço especializado foram identificadas, sendo a demanda livre (13,8 %) e a referência pelo dentista da Atenção Básica (63,2 %) as mais frequentes. Usuários encaminhados pelo dentista da unidade básica de saúde demonstraram mais interesse em realizar a contra referência que os demais (p<0,001; RP=4,65; IC 95 %: 2,74-7,91), enquanto indivíduos sem esse encaminhamento tiveram 1,49 vezes mais dificuldade de conseguir atendimento (IC95 %: 1,02-2,17). A forma de encaminhamento é fator decisivo para a contra referência, contudo a alta demanda para a Atenção Básica e a pouca oferta destes serviços frente às necessidades comprometem o desempenho do CEO. Conclusões A análise das práticas de saúde bucal, na perspectiva de modelagem de redes, aponta para a necessidade dos serviços efetivarem protocolos de regulação, que culminem na melhoria do acesso e qualidade da atenção prestada.Palavras-chave: Avaliação de serviços de saúde, serviços de saúde bucal, acesso aos serviços de saúde (fonte: DeCS, BIREME). ABSTRACTObjective Based on the system of reference and counter-reference and comprehensiveness in oral health care, we aimed to examine ways of refering

Objectives: To verify the existence of difficulties throughout the course of dentistry clinical practices, identify musculoskeletal pain, and evaluate frequency and intensity of pain/discomfort (if existent) in different regions of the body, experienced by lefthanded students in comparison to right-handed students of the odontology courses of the state of Rio Grande do Norte (Northeast Brazil). Methods: A general questionnaire was applied to identify left-handed students in a population of 750 students, enrolled in clinical courses. An adaptation of the Grad-Corllet Diagram and a specific questionnaire on clinical practices were applied to the selected students.Descriptive statistics was utilized to analyze data of the specific questionnaire, and Mann-Whitney statistics, chi-square or Fisher's Exact tests (with a 5% significance level) were utilized for the Grad-Corllet Diagram, searching for an association between discomfort/pain in different body regions and manual laterality. Results: All students presented higher percentage of pain in the lumbar and neck/cervical regions. However, left-handed students presented higher values, with statistical significance levels of p = 0.041 for lower back, p = 0.002 for neck and p = 0.003 for cervical region. Conclusions: The majority of left-handed students classified "moderate" the difficulty of working with equipment designed for right-handers. There was high frequency of musculoskeletal pain/discomfort, with relevant statistical results for lefthanded students regarding intensity. It is suggested that the participating institutions evaluate the adoption of inclusion politics, re-adapt the infrastructure to include 248equipment designed for left-handers, and finally provide adequate work conditions for all students.

With the aim of contributing to the current curricular transformation of Brazilian Dentistry courses, this study describes the training of dental surgeons considering the needs of the public Unified Health System (SUS -Sistema Único de Saúde). We focus on the health care model currently in force and emphasize the idea that so as to attain the principles of this model, a shift in the training of instructors who lecture in Dentistry should occur. Some aspects of the training of such instructors, together with the implementation of the National Curricular Guidelines in Dentistry courses, are discussed, and the professional profiles of graduates from Brazilian dental schools are analyzed. We conclude our work by considering some elements that should be observed in order to improve the training process so that it will lead to the training of dental surgeons able to act within a new perspective, that of health promotion.Key words: Dental education; health promotion; dental faculty ResumoO presente artigo apresenta um retrato da formação dos cirurgiões-dentistas, objetivando contribuir com a atual transformação curricular dos cursos de Odontologia brasileiros, considerando as necessidades do Sistema Único de Saúde. Para tanto, resgata o modelo de atenção vigente na saúde e enfatiza que para o cumprimento de seus princípios é necessário mudar primeiramente a formação dos formadores, isto é, dos professores que atuam na educação superior na área odontológica. Nesse sentido, discute alguns aspectos da formação desses docentes, assim como a instituição das Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais nos Cursos de Odontologia. Analisa, ainda, o perfil profissional do egresso das Faculdades de Odontologia brasileiras e conclui considerando alguns pontos que devem ser respeitados para que se agregue valor ao processo de formação, de modo que este possa dar conta de formar cirurgiões-dentistas capazes de atuar dentro de uma nova perspectiva, a promoção da saúde. Palavras