ANÁLISE DO PERFIL EDUCACIONAL DOS CURSOS DE ESPECIALIZAÇÃO EM ODONTOLOGIA LEGAL NO BRASIL

Abstract

Introduction: Forensic dentistry is a specialty linked to forensic medicine that allows us to apply knowledge that ranges from helping the courts to elucidate cases that have affected living or dead people or bones, to dental and legal ethics in the practice of the profession. Objective: To quantify the active specialization courses in Legal Dentistry in Brazil. Material and methods: This was a quantitative, observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study. The population consisted of active in-person and distance specialization courses in Legal Dentistry, obtained through the e-MEC portal, from which all available information was obtained, and through institutional websites. The data was analyzed to check prevalence in relation to: modality (face-to-face or distance learning), category (private or public), region, maximum qualification of the coordinator and practices in the IML. Results: It was found that of the 41 active courses, 30 were face-to-face (73.17%); the majority in the private category (92.68%); the Southeast region had the highest concentration of courses (33.33%); a doctorate was the most prevalent degree among the coordinators (43.90%) and only 2 courses presented data regarding practices (4.87%). Conclusion: It was observed that the number of courses in Legal Dentistry is still low, which may explain the number of specialists in the area in relation to the number of dentists in Brazil. Practices are important, but few of the courses present this data. Face-to-face teaching is still more common than distance learning.