Levantamento epidemiológico em saúde bucal como recurso didático-pedagógico na formação clínico-epidemiológica do cirurgião-dentista

Abstract

Oral Health Epidemiological Survey as a Didactic-Pedagogical Resource in the Clinical Epidemiology Education of Dental Surgeons This study aimed to report the use of an epidemiological survey on oral health as a didactic-pedagogical resource in the initial education of dental surgeons. Following the objectives of the external supervised internship of the Dentistry undergraduate course at the State University of Ponta Grossa, students have developed epidemiological surveys on oral illnesses and/or needs in cooperation with Oral Health Teams. These surveys focus mainly on dental caries, oral cancer and dental prosthesis according to life cycles, in several social spaces such as child daycare centers, schools, education teams in health units, among others. Carrying out epidemiological surveys, in addition to providing students with opportunities of acting as executors, also enables them to associate theoretical content from the collective health axis to the development of Primary Health Care. It provides a model of situational strategic planning from the data collected to monitor oral diseases along the years in specific groups and results in feedback for the services provided and for the community through reports, education activities as well as new strategies and demand organization, and it might also achieve other objectives. The focus of this report was to highlight the use of surveys to learn about individual and community clinical diagnoses, enabling certain aspects of the course clinical axis such as the differentiation of anatomical characteristics of deciduous and permanent teeth, differential diagnosis of white-spot dental lesions, less frequent dental or soft tissue alterations and/or lesions, among others. Due to their applicability beyond the collective health teaching, oral health epidemiological surveys have been seen as a promising didacticpedagogical resource in the clinical epidemiology education of dental surgeons and their use should be fostered in dentistry courses. Descriptors: Health Surveys. Teaching Care Integration Services. Teaching Materials. Professional Training. Dentistry.