The health surveillance and the dental care attendance conditions in municipal health units of Fortaleza, Ceará - doi:10.5020/18061230.2005.p17

Abstract

The present research had as its objective to evaluate the dental care working process in the municipal Health Units of Fortaleza, corresponding to the II Regional Executive Secretaryship (SER II), having as referential the sanitary surveillance actions. The evaluation was accomplished in seven Units, through a descriptive observational study. For obtaining the data, the researcher positioned himself in a strategic local in order to not disturb the course of the activities and to have conditions of observing the whole atmosphere and execution of the activities developed both by the professionals and the auxiliary team, all observations being written down in a specific guide. It was observed that most of the dentists and the dental clinic assistants mainly neglect the use of the cap and protection glasses. It was verified that none of the dental clinic assistants worked sat down at the moment of assisting the dentist thus causing lower efficiency of the developed activities. Also, more than half of these assistants were not registered in the Regional Dentistry Council of Ceará (CRO-CE). Concerning the sterilization, autoclaves were used in less than half of the clinics. It was observed that protecting film was not used in any clinic to isolate the places which the professional has direct contact. It is necessary that reorientation measures for the dental care services rendered in the Health Units of SER II be taken, in order to adequate the observed situations, in this way protecting the health of the population and of the oral health team as well as guiding the health surveillance performance in the sense of accomplishing its actions having as reference the working process and not just the services’ structure.