PROJETO AMAZONAS: DENTAL CARE IN RIVERINE COMMUNITIES OF SÃO GABRIEL DA CACHOEIRA - AM

Abstract

The Amazon Project is a civic and social action, nonprofit and performed by voluntary action of professionals. Humanitarian missions are conducted in this project in medical, dental, preventive and social context by the indigenous peoples of the Amazon region. Thus, the aim of this work is to report the dentists’ participation experience in this project and the indigenous oral health condition which is opposed to a hypnotic setting of natural beauty. Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira, situated in the state of Amazonas, presents the largest indigenous population in the country. Globalization, the contact with the Brazilian Army very present in the region and rapprochement with people from other cultures are making the indigenous population suffer changes in their characteristics, customs and habits, and along with this, systemic and oral diseases have occurred with great frequency. Health care for indigenous groups have always been disorganized and neglected by the authorities, and lack of health professionals results in high rates of dental caries observed in this population. Eight dentists participated in Amazonas Project conducted in 2013. They have done 1405 emergency procedures, which included extractions (739), prescription medications (660) and endodontic curative (6). It were performed 679 restorative procedures, including atraumatic restorative treatment – ART - (570) and composite resin restorations (109). Furthermore, preventative procedures (72) were performed. Education actions in dental health and supervised toothbrushing were performed with all the children of the community. These oral health conditions should draw attention of the Brazilian population and governments for action to be taken, in order to have congruence of exuberant natural setting found in the region with the health of the population who lives there.