Toothache, cavities, tartar, root canal, dental implants, wisdom teeth extractions, canker sores and abscesses, oral cancer, gingivitis, gingivitis and gingivitis. These and many other dental problems are treated free of charge in the Unified Health System (SUS), through the Brasil Sorridente Program, a federal measure created in 2004, during the first term of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and resumed in May of this year. year.
The gateway for those looking to take care of their oral health through the Unified Health System, free of charge, are the 44,000 Basic Health Units (UBS) across the country. At these locations, specialists from the oral health teams provide the patient with initial and follow-up dental care. Generally, preventive work is performed there, such as oral hygiene and other simpler dental procedures.
Dental services are also provided in 140 mobile dental units (UOM), for example, for the homeless population.
However, if in the primary health care examination the patient’s condition is found to be more complex, he or she is referred to a Specialized Dental Center (CEO), where secondary general health care specialists, when necessary, perform surgical procedures, manufacture personalized dental prosthetics, Placement of orthodontic appliances, and investigation of oral injuries, among other procedures.
The General Coordinator for Oral Health at the Ministry of Health, Doralis Severo da Cruz, states that SUS is a world leader in providing free dental care and comprehensive care in this sector.
Patients were treated
At the slightest sign of a dental emergency, many people admit that they fear facing the device with a small, noisy, unmistakable motor – the drill, which is routinely used in dental offices. The fear of lying in the dentist’s chair makes many people neglect oral health care and seek professional help only when the problem is already chronic.
Brasilia (DF) 10/05/2023 – Supermarket presenter Moisés Pinheiro has agreed to dental care through SUS. filming: Juidson Alves/Brazil Agency
Eliosa Enilda Silva, a 70-year-old retiree, was not used to visiting the dentist. But she noticed a lump in her mouth, which had been bothering her for more than two months. Last week, the pensioner was referred by the Emergency Care Unit (UPA) close to her residence, in the Federal District, to the Specialized Dental Center, at the Regional Hospital da Asa Norte (HRAN), in central Brasilia. You will undergo a biopsy of your tongue tissue. Next to her teenage grandson, after speaking to the dental team, she said she felt calmer. “They sent me here. I’m safe.”
Public employee Flavia Avancini knows and trusts the dental care provided by SUS. This week, she accompanied her son, Felipe Gabriel Avancini dos Reis, 17, to the extraction of four third molars, in the same consultation, at the Executive Director of HRAN, one of the 13 centers in the Federal District. “This is my second son to come here and have surgery. My other daughter also came here and had two wisdom teeth removed. If I need to, I will come back again. I think this opportunity is perfect.”
Felipe had his four wisdom teeth injured, that is, while lying down and pressing on the nerves, and he told the Brazilian Agency report that everything was fine. “It was painful before, but not now.”
In the office next door, supermarket anchor Moises Pinheiro, who suffers from a systemic disease that can affect many organs, went to another consultation for preventive treatment of lesions in the mouth, to avoid opportunistic infections. “The service is excellent, the procedures are too, and the professionals have a lot of experience in this field. We understand.”
Moises said it was not difficult to get care in the unit, as he was immediately referred by the doctor accompanying him in the CEO, due to the risks to his health.
Sigmar Andre, a 68-year-old retiree and cancer patient, was in the HRAN CEO’s waiting room. When lying in the dental chair, the patient opens his mouth so that the dentist applies a laser that treats mucositis, which are wounds in the lining of the mouth, which is a side effect of cancer treatment, and which can lead to infections. “The doctor warned me and I came for treatment. Now everything is resolved.”
Oral health teams
The Brasil Sorridente Program currently has approximately 35,000 oral health teams providing dental care through SUS.
One of these specialists is dental surgeon Raffaella Gallerani. “Many patients end up in her office, after being referred by primary health care. Dr. Raffaella approved the National Regulatory System (Sisreg), from the Ministry of Health, which shows the vacant places in the SUS units to receive patients. “It is like a single queue system, So there is no personal agenda, and there is no special queue for me. “The system works very well and has also been a revolution in regulated services,” he explains.
Dentist Heber Torres, CEO of HRAN, has been an employee of the Federal District Ministry of Health for 35 years. He could have retired already, he said, but the mission within the office, which is to help those in need, speaks louder. “I’m helping someone. It’s very rewarding. People really need this service. There are people who don’t have the conditions. “I’m tired of hearing ‘Doctor, please answer me, because I don’t even have money to take the bus,'” recalls dentist Heber Torres.
Brasilia (DF) 05/10/2023 – Oral health technician Amanda Brasil believes the SUS system could serve more patients. “Our equipment is very old, and it is always broken.” filming: Juidson Alves/Brazil Agency
Oral health technician Amanda Brazil says she feels frustrated by the difficulties she faces in the public health service. “We wanted to be able to do more for the residents. We couldn’t do that because of the restrictions. Our equipment is very old, and it’s always broken. Sometimes we spend more time standing still than responding. So, the money has been stopped. “Because we’re here, It’s expensive and it could work better,” the oral hygienist laments.
Investments
To try to correct these and other problems in the field of dentistry and ensure access to oral health in areas with health care gaps, the Ministry of Health announced that the Brazil Sorrente Program will allocate a total of R$ 3.8 billion to be spent in 2024. 126% higher than the program budget for this General.
With these funds, the Ministry plans to benefit more than 22.8 million people through the SUS Dental Care Program. If this increase is confirmed, the federal program will reach 62.5% of the Brazilian population, equivalent to 127 million people.
To achieve this, next year the federal government intends to recruit 6,536 new oral health teams.
The Ministry of Health’s General Coordinator for Oral Health, Doralis Severo, celebrated these investments. “In Brazil, we have 35,000 oral health teams, but they are still not available everywhere. These resources, unprecedented in the field of oral health, will also be used for this purpose, recruiting new specialists and new centers.
In the new strategy, the Ministry of Health’s goal is to structure 100 new executive directors, to make a total of 1,310 centers available to communities. In addition to them, the Ministry wants to rehabilitate 100 other centers to care for persons with disabilities, numbering 766 specialized units.
The federal government will prioritize the establishment of dental services in the interior regions of the country, focusing on municipalities with a population of up to 20,000.
The Ministry expects the number of operating mobile dental units to double by 2024, with the new Union budget. 300 new vehicles will be purchased and equipped, which will constitute a total fleet of 404 units of this type in the country. In addition to investing R$270 million in the purchase of new dental equipment such as dental chairs and ultrasound.
In May of this year, President Lula passed the law that incorporated the national oral health policy, “Smiling Brazil,” into the Organic Health Law. Therefore, oral health has become a right for all Brazilians, guaranteed by law. In the first half of the year, the Ministry of Health reported that it accredited 3,685 new oral health teams and 630 new service and care units.
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