Conduta de Cirurgiões-Dentistas sobre o diagnóstico de alterações estomatológicas orais na atenção básica em Caicó-RN

Abstract

It is known that with the phenomenon of population aging in Brazil, there is an expectation that the amount of oral lesions increases among society directly impacting on people’s general health. In this context, the Dentist has an essential role to act in the diagnosis of these pathological conditions enabling an adequate treatment and improving the prognosis of the patient. The objective of this study is to verify the conduct of dentists in the practice of diagnosis of oral changes in primary care in the city of Caicó-RN. This study was conducted in 20 Primary Health Care teams in the municipality of Caicó-RN, through the use of a questionnaire, which was prepared by the researchers and was made available to Dentists. It is characterized as an observational, cross-sectional, quantitative and descriptive research. The data collected were processed through the use of the Jamovi(R) statistical program, using the Mann-Whitney U tests, Fischer’s exact and Shapiro-Wilk. The sample obtained was 20 Dentists (DC) and the profile of these professionals proved to be the majority formed by men (60%) with a mean age of 38.30 (± 5.67) years and with a graduation time of 14.05 (± 6.54) years. The average number of correct answers to questions related to specific knowledge in Stomatology was 7.6 (±1.875). Regarding the complete clinical examination in patients, 65% reported doing it routinely. However, the complete extra oral examination is performed by only 10% of the CDs. In addition, only 15% regularly instruct the patient to perform the self-exam. With this study, it was possible to conclude that dentists have a good ability to diagnose. However, the vast majority of CD prefer to refer or accompany patients rather than performing the biopsy. In addition, this study showed that there is a low proportion of CD that perform the physical examination in detail and guide on oral selfexamination.