Last Monday (8), the President of the Republic, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva sanctioned Bill No. 8131/2017 that includes the National Oral Health Policy, also known as Smiling Brazil, in the Organic Health Code. From now on, oral health is a right of all Brazilians guaranteed by law. The first measure adopted by the Ministry of Health to strengthen the program is the expansion of care. In the state of Minas Gerais, 619 new oral hygiene teams have been certified, as well as 84 regional prosthetic dental laboratories and 17 specialized dental centers.
Created in 2004, Brasil Sorridente has changed the lives of millions of Brazilians. One of its main guiding principles is to combat the difficulty of accessing oral health, especially for the most vulnerable populations and in areas with poor health care.
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Nationwide, there are 3,685 new oral health teams and 630 new units of care and services. Investment in these new qualifications will reach over R%uFF04136 million in 2023. Minas Gerais, the effect will be R%uFF0420,521,851.55.
10 million Brazilians are without a dentist
Thanks to the new qualifications, the program has now reached more than 10 million Brazilians who did not have access to this care, for a total of 111.6 million people covered. Brazil now has 33,300 teams operating across the country and 5,600 services in operation.
Among the Brazilian municipalities considered with new services and oral health teams, at least 85 municipalities will receive teams for the first time. In all, 68 different CEO services were enabled. Of these, 19 are new units. The credits also enable 10 new mobile dental units to ensure care reaches hard-to-reach and high-risk areas.
The new qualifications also cover the 552 new Regional Prosthodontic Dentistry (LRPD) laboratories, which expand the prosthodontics offer by SUS and enable vocal and masticatory rehabilitation and the restoration of self-confidence.
Oral health care at SUS is provided in Primary Health Units (UBS), Family Health Units (USF), Ambulatory Dental Units (UOM), Specialized Dental Centers (CEO) and hospitals. In addition to these services, the Brasil Sorridente Program has Regional Prosthodontic Laboratories (LRPD).
