Tratamento odontológico durante a gestação: conhecimentos e percepções de estudantes de Odontologia

Abstract

Dental treatment during pregnancy is surrounded by myths and uncertainties, perpetuated by the fear of treating pregnant women. Few dental schools in Brazil include some disciplines, projects, programs, or actions that prepare under graduate students for providing dental care to pregnant women. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of undergraduate dental students about the dental care of pregnant women and the needs of these students to learn about this topic. A semistructured questionnaire was applied to all students enrolled for the second semester of 2016 at the Dental School of Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. The questionnaire contained questions about knowledge and expectations of dental treatment of pregnant women. The results were evaluated by content analysis and prevalence estimates were calculated. Among the 303 students who answered the questionnaire, only 14% attended to pregnant women during their undergraduate course. Only 43% of the students thought they were prepared to treat pregnant women and 62% reported having been given some guidelines on prenatal dental care during their undergraduate studies, with no formal syllabus dealt within any discipline. Regarding technical qualification, the major problems were lack of knowledge about the use of medications, anesthetics, and procedures. In conclusion, students lacked knowledge about dental treatment of pregnant women,but they showed interest in improving their learning in this field. Undergraduate courses do not properly qualify students for prenatal dental care, strengthening the fears and aphorisms surrounding this healthcare service.