O perfil da disciplina Odontologia Legal em face das novas diretrizes curriculares nacionais

Abstract

Currently, undergraduate curricula in the health field seek to align theoretical foundations with the reality in which the future professional will be inserted, emphasizing actions articulated with citizenship values. The National Curricular Guidelines (DCNs) for the Dentistry Course, reviewed and approved in 2021 (Opinion CNE/CES No: 803/2018), guide that the graduate must be trained under bioethical, ethical, and legal principles, understanding the social, cultural, and economic reality of their environment to act for the benefit of society. ​Focusing on the Human and Social Sciences, the DCNs establish the inclusion of theoretical and practical content that addresses the individual/society relationship, contributing to the understanding of the social, cultural, behavioral, psychological, ecological, ethical, and legal determinants of the health-disease process. It is within this context that the discipline of Forensic Dentistry is inserted. Forensic Dentistry, defined as the specialty that applies dental knowledge to the interests of the Law, aims at the research of psychic, physical, chemical, and biological phenomena that may affect humans, restricted to the study area of dentistry. Its competencies, according to CFO Resolution No 63/2005, include human identification, expertise in civil, criminal, and labor forums, forensic thanatology, preparation of reports and opinions, and dental deontology, among others. The Dental Surgeon is legally competent to carry out Forensic Dental expertise. The objective of this study is to stimulate reflection on the importance of the profile of the Forensic Dentistry discipline in light of the new DCNs for contemporary dental professional training. The study was conducted as a narrative literature review, using searches in Google Scholar with descriptors such as "National Curricular Guidelines" and "Forensic Dentistry," and considering national studies published after Opinion CNE/CES No: 803/2018. ​Historically, Dentistry in Brazil evolved from the practice by barbers and bleeders to the recognition of the term "dentist" in 1800, culminating in the creation of the Dentistry Course annexed to Medical Faculties in 1884, becoming an autonomous Faculty in 1933. In 1919, the Chair of Legal Medicine applied to Dental Art was created. The interface of Forensic Dentistry with the new DCNs is confirmed by Opinion CNE/CES no 803/2018, which prescribes the inclusion in the Human and Social Sciences of content on ethical, bioethical, and forensic determinants of the health-disease process, as well as concepts of dental expertise and auditing. The Forensic Dentistry discipline is, therefore, essential for the training of an integral dental surgeon, capable of acting in accordance with the ethical-legal aspects of the profession and contributing to justice in the resolution of disputes.