Abstract
In Brazil, a reduction in the prevalence of tooth decay has been observed recently. However, the distribution pattern of oral diseases still reflects widespread inequality in the access to public preventive and dental care. The oral health status of certain populations highlights the differences in the availability, accessibility and acceptability of education and oral health care. In this context, bioethics can be used as a concrete tool for the discussion, improvement and consolidation of citizenship, human rights and social justice. The purpose of this review is to reflect on Brazilian public primary oral health care from a bioethical standpoint. To do so, it is necessary to start with an analysis of the role of bioethics in public health in Brazil and to approach some of the ethical issues surrounding dental care in the Brazilian public health system.
Highlights
The establishment of the Brazilian Health System (SUS) in the 1988 Constitution represented a break with the paradigm of public dental services, which had been previously offered mainly through school systems and free health services [1]
This article reflects on the oral health situation in the Brazilian Primary Health Care System (SUS)
Given the role of bioethics in public health discussions, it becomes evident that bioethics and public health have many points of convergence because both are concerned with issues of human rights, citizenship, social movements and public policy
Summary
The establishment of the Brazilian Health System (SUS) in the 1988 Constitution represented a break with the paradigm of public dental services, which had been previously offered mainly through school systems and free health services [1]. The subsequent incorporation of dentistry into the Family Health Strategy (ESF) in December 2000 aimed to expand access to health promotion and improve oral disease prevention and treatment with subsequent improvement in epidemiological indicators [2]. With its unique process of evolution, bioethics has become a concrete tool for the discussion, improvement and consolidation of citizenship, human rights and social justice [6]. In this context, this article reflects on the oral health situation in the Brazilian Primary Health Care System (SUS).
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