A inclusão da equipe de saúde bucal na estratégia saúde da família: entraves, avanços e desafios

Abstract

This scope of this article is to discuss the inclusion of oral health in the Brazilian Family Health Strategy in municipalities of a micro-region of southeastern Brazil, from the standpoint of human resources. Questionnaires were distributed to members of the oral health service: dentists, assistants and managers. The instrument included three dimensions: how and why they adopted the new model; how the service is being reorganized; and what advances were perceived by professionals. The most common reason mentioned by managers for the inclusion of Oral Health was the possibility of changing the technical care model. When asked about their motivation, dentists and assistants also considered the possibility of change in practices to be a priority. It was also seen that there are critical bottlenecks in the hiring and training of human resources to work in the oral health team and in integration among health professionals. Indeed, access is enhanced either by the organization or by the expansion of the teams. The municipalities of the micro-region still encounter difficulties for the functioning of the oral health service, after Family Health, to show actual progress in care practices. However, advances exist and these need to be bolstered to consolidate the health system and improve the quality of life of the population.