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Cited by 286Dental Health and Care UtilizationPublic Health in BrazilHealthcare Systems and Practices

Ten Years of a National Oral Health Policy in Brazil: Innovation, Boldness, and Numerous Challenges

Pucca, G.A., Gabriel, M., de Araujo, M.E., de Almeida, F.C.S.·2015·Journal of Dental Research
DOI 10.1177/0022034515599979
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Abstract

Brazil is the only country in the world to propose a universal health care system with the aim of guaranteeing delivery of all levels of health care, free of charge, to a population of over 200 million inhabitants by means of a unified health system (“Sistema Único de Saúde” [SUS]). The national policy of oral health, also known as Smiling Brazil (“Brasil Sorridente”), was implemented in 2004. Oral health was designated as 1 of the 4 priority areas of the SUS, transforming oral health care in Brazil, with the objective that the SUS achieve the integrality of care envisaged at its creation. The aim of this article is to share part of this experience in order to prompt reflection about the inclusion of oral health care in other health care systems around the world. The most significant results of Smiling Brazil can be seen in 3 areas: 1) oral health epidemiological indicators, 2) financial investment and professional development, and 3) the building of an oral health care network throughout the 10 y of the policy. The “Discovery!” article presented here portrays 10 y of evolution; however, it is important to point out that this is a process undergoing construction and that the oral health care network needs to be further expanded, refined, and solidified so that over time and through changes in the political parties in power, Smiling Brazil prevails as a perennial policy and not merely an action by a single government.

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Crossref · 10.1177/0022034515599979

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  • In Brazil, prioritisation of deployment of the National Oral Health Policy by the federal government demonstrated greater integration of oral healthcare in the unified health system, with coverage for access to oral health for the Brazilian population having grown significantly since 2004.

    “In Brazil, prioritisation of deployment of the National Oral Health Policy by the federal government demonstrated greater integration of oral healthcare in the unified health system, with coverage for access to oral health for the Brazilian population having grown significantly since 2004.”

    From Barriers and facilitators in the integration of oral health into primary care: a scoping review (2017) · cites this paper as [70]

  • There are variations in the scope of practice amongst mid-level providers of oral health, such as dental assistants, dental nurses, dental hygienists, and dental therapists.

    “Grouping all mid-level oral health professionals with distinct scope of practice under the umbrella of ‘dental assistants and therapists’ is not particularly helpful, especially for the African context, given variations in the scope of practice amongst mid-level providers [38] of oral health, such as dental assistants, dental nurses, dental hygienists, and dental therapists [30,35,37,49,50].”

    From Oral health workforce in Africa: a scarce resource (2023) · cites this paper as [50]

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Authors
Pucca, G. A., Gabriel, M., de Araujo, M. E., & de Almeida, F. C. S.
Affiliations
  • Universidade de Brasília (BR)
  • Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
  • Observatory for Oral Health Human Resources, São Paulo, Brazil
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Dental Research
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2015-08-27
Volume
94
Issue
10
Pages
1333-1337
ISSN
  • 0022-0345 (ISSN-L)
  • 1544-0591
DOI
10.1177/0022034515599979
OpenAlex
W1814952814
Cited by
286
References
16
Citations by year
2026: 37 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 42 · 2020: 46 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 2
FWCI
22.13
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Journal of Dental Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Dental Health and Care Utilization
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Public Health in Brazil
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare Systems and Practices
Keywords
oral health policy, universal health care, oral health care network, oral health financing, health policy evaluation, Brazil
MeSH terms
Workforce, Brazil, Dental Care, Health Policy, Health Status Indicators, Humans, Oral Health, Delivery of Health Care, Integrated, Universal Health Insurance

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