Desigualdades na distribuição da cárie dentária no Brasil

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Inequalities in the distribution of dental caries in Brazil: a bioethical approach

Simone de Melo Costa 1
Mauro Henrique Nogueira Guimarães de Abreu 1
Mara Vasconcelos 1
Rita de Cássia Gabrielli Souza Lima 2
Marta Verdi 2
Efigênia Ferreira e Ferreira 1

1
Departamento de
Odontologia, Universidade
Estadual de Montes Claros.
Av. Dr. Ruy Braga s/n,
Campus Universitário
Professor Darcy Ribeiro,
Vila Mauricéia. 39401-089
Montes Claros MG. [e-mail] 2
Departamento de Saúde
Pública, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade
Federal de Santa Catarina.

Abstract The scope of this paper was to analyze the problem of dental caries as a public health issue of epidemiological relevance. It is a case study based on documentary analysis of national epidemiological surveys on oral health in the years 1986,
2003 and 2010, with the Bioethics of Protection as an analytical support. The surveys revealed inequalities between population groups; and such inequalities were analyzed with respect to the reduction of the disease in the younger population, access to oral health care, and tooth loss, which is the worst outcome for tooth decay. The good results presented in the surveys have not reached the whole population; data have shown inequalities regarding family income and Brazilian region. It was also found that from 2003 government interventions in protective actions such as the adoption of criteria of equity in the allocation of health resources and inclusion of vulnerable population have contributed to a reduction in caries. Nevertheless, it is considered necessary update oral health care models by using Epidemiology as a structuring tool, and an interface with socially responsible protective bioethics, since regional differences continued to be marked in the analysis.
Key words Epidemiology, Oral health, Public policies, Bioethics

Resumo Este artigo objetivou analisar a problemática da cárie dentária, enquanto uma