PERFIL DE COMPONENTES CURRICULARES E DOCENTES DE ODONTOLOGIA LEGAL E SAÚDE COLETIVA DE CURSOS DE GRADUAÇÃO EM ODONTOLOGIA DA REGIÃO NORTE DO BRASIL

Abstract

Introduction: Forensic Dentistry (FD) and Public Health (PH) contribute to dentist’s development in aspects related to professional ethics, citizenship and attention to the population health needs. Aim: to analyze the profile of FD and PH disciplines and professors in undergraduate courses of Dentistry. Material and methods: a quantitative cross-sectional study was carried out using an electronic questionnaire sent to professors who taught FD and PH in north brazilian colleges in 2022. To data analysis, descriptive statistics, Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were applied. Results: Forty professors participated in the survey. Of these, 25% were professors of FD, 55% of PH and 23% of both disciplines. Most OL disciplines were mandatory, with face-to-face teaching, theoretical and practical classes, taught in just one semester throughout the course. PH disciplines had great variability in the distribution of periods in the course, most with a workload up to 200 hours. Just over 40% of FD professors had specific training in the area. In the PH area, 63% of professors had specific training. The opportunity for work or insertion in an educational institution was the reason most cited by professors who did not have specific training in the area of the disciplines they taught. There was no statistically significant difference in the professors' profile. Conclusion: the OL disciplines were not aligned with the guidelines of the Brazilian Association of Forensic Dentistry and the PH disciplines followed the predictions of the 2002 National Curricular Guidelines.