Abstract
Abstract This is a qualitative and exploratory research that aimed to analyze the oral health self-perception of adults and elderly people from the South of Brazil who were being treated at a university-based Dental Teaching Hospital. Individual semi-structured interviews were carried out, recorded by an audio equipment, and transcribed. The textual material was interpreted by thematic content analysis. The sample consisted of 46 individuals. Expressions of a body in discomfort, marked by limitations in physiological functions (chewing, speaking, taste) and in sociocultural functions (social life, employment, appearance, smiling, habits) of daily life were present in the narratives of people who perceived their oral health negatively. There were reports of non-use of prostheses or use of inadequate ones, dental diseases, bad breath and pain, which mobilized different feelings (despair, nervousness, irritation, shame, embarrassment, oppression). The opportunity of recovering this body through access and adherence to dental treatment brought the possibility of a 'corporal relearning' so that this body could continue to interact in the world. Understanding how people perceive themselves regarding their oral health has the potential for providing more humanized and effective care, allowing the subject to have more autonomy/participation in decisions about their treatment.
Highlights
The implementation of the Brazilian National Health System, known as SUS (BRASIL, 1988), the inclusion of the oral health team in the Family Health Strategy (BRASIL, 2000), and the institution of a National Oral Health Policy (BRASIL, 2004) have brought changes to the oral healthcare provided for Brazilians
This new clinic assumes responsibilities towards the other and enables the understanding of subjective aspects, of physical aspects, in the care process (BOTAZZO et al, 2015; CUNHA, 2010; BRASIL, 2007). This debate is grounded on the relationship between health, oral health and quality of life and on the importance of people’s subjective experiences about their own functional, social and psychological wellbeing (LOCKER, 1997), reinventing the historical practice of Dentistry that views the mouth as a fragmented organ devoid of a body (PIRES; BOTAZZO, 2015)
This study proposed to analyze, with a qualitative approach, the way in which people perceive themselves in relation to their oral health condition, showing the role played by the ‘mouth and teeth’ in their life
Summary
The implementation of the Brazilian National Health System, known as SUS (BRASIL, 1988), the inclusion of the oral health team in the Family Health Strategy (BRASIL, 2000), and the institution of a National Oral Health Policy (BRASIL, 2004) have brought changes to the oral healthcare provided for Brazilians. In a context where the provision of comprehensive care is the goal, a proposal for reorienting the conceptions and practices of oral health assistance and planning has been established by means of the discussion of an amplified clinic targeted at meeting the needs and demands perceived by people. This new clinic assumes responsibilities towards the other and enables the understanding of subjective aspects, of physical aspects, in the care process (BOTAZZO et al, 2015; CUNHA, 2010; BRASIL, 2007). Daily activities like chewing, speaking and smiling, as well as appearance and social relations, can be affected by tooth loss, contributing to reduce the quality of life of people (LIMA et al, 2018)
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