Training, Practices and Difficulties of Dentists in the Care of Children and Adolescents with Special Needs in the Primary Health Care

ABSTRACT

Objective: To know the training, practices and difficulties of Dentists in the care for Patients with Special Needs (PSN), in the Primary Health Care (PHC). Material and Methods: This is a Cross-sectional study with 44 Dentists. Some of the variables analyzed through the questionnaire were dentistry specialty, PSN definition, undergraduate discipline on the subject, accomplishment of PSN care, difficulties, referral and accessibility. Data analysis was performed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and measures of central tendency and dispersion by Fisher's Exact Test (p < 0.05). Results: Only one professional investigated presented PSN Specialization. About 82.5% of professionals had graduation time of over 10 years, where 75% of professionals did not have Curricular Component (P=0.006) or training to deal with PSN (85.0%), despite working in primary care for more than 10 years (60%). The care of PSN in the Primary Health Care was performed by 77.5% of professionals, in which lack of care was justified mainly because dentists did not feel prepared to perform it (37.5%), and the main difficulty found in care, refers to the lack of cooperation of these patients (27.5%). All professionals reported to refer patients to reference services, but 12.5% did not perform a previous clinical examination in the PHC. The reference service most reported by professionals was the Dental Specialty Center (82.5%). Conclusion: Although the training received by professionals present deficiencies in relation to PSN, the majority reported to attend these patients in Primary Health Care Units, and considered to be able to supply their needs. The greatest difficulties found in the care of Patients with Special Needs are related to their approach. The lack of care of these patients was justified by the fact that Dentists did not feel prepared to perform.