Special care in dental curriculum: A transversal axis for integrating oral health with systemic health.

Abstract

Distance between dentistry and medicine is a traditional and historical obstacle that affects multiple levels of the health system, especially the health policies to improve health service quality. Changes in dental education, especially involving the adoption of integrative health models in professional development, are considered essential for reducing this gap. We aimed to show a dental curriculum focused on special care as a tool for medicine-dentistry integration. In this study, we present a new proposal for an undergraduate dental curriculum in which topics related to special care are addressed transversally and are the core for interdisciplinary integration of oral health with systemic health. We also describe how themes related to dental home care and hospital dentistry were included in this course as basic professional competencies. This initiative is aligned with the global trend to adopt educational systems that contribute to the reduction of health care inequalities and improve health service quality.