October 29, 2023 – 09:30
#hospital dentistry #Sesa Network #oral health
Bruno Brandão, Cícero Dantas, Márcia Catunda, Joelton Barboza and Thiago Mendes – Ascom HGWA, HRN, UPAs, HRVJ and CIDH – Text and pictures
Oral health is something that is part of the daily care of many people, but within hospital units, the patient is often unable to perform these tasks, requiring the help of a professional. Hospital dentistry is part of the routine of many professionals working in the network of the Department of Health in Ceará (Sesa). Given the importance of this care, Law No. 10,465/2002 determines the day October 25 like National Oral Health Day.
In the General Hospital Dr. Waldemar Alcântara (HGWA) this work is mainly carried out in Intensive Care Units (ICU). There is currently a team of three dental surgeons and two oral health technicians. Dental surgeon Tácio Bezerra, Master and Doctor of Dentistry, who works in the unit, explains that the service aims to help the patient’s treatment process by avoiding the development of infections, especially Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP) and seeking to enable as many as soon as possible. discharge from the hospital.
The hospital also has elective care on demand regulated by the State Regulatory Center of SUS (Cresus) Cresus for patients with special needs who require dental treatment under general anesthesia as they do not cooperate with conventional treatment; and for patients with needs requiring complex oral and maxillofacial surgeries.
“The work has been developed in a very collaborative way between the multidisciplinary team. The importance of service is to see the impact we have on the lives of people in need. When we can assist in intensive care, among other things, by intervening in the reduction of pneumonia cases”, emphasizes Tácio.
The team of dental surgeons works with the dental needs at HGWA
Multidisciplinary team
The Cariri Regional Hospital (HRC), in Juazeiro do Norte, has a maxillofacial surgery service, a procedure used to treat diseases or injuries of the oral cavity, face, jaw and facial region.
The service is currently run by nine face-to-face professionals, providing support for emergency, nursing, elective surgery, ambulance and facial trauma patients. For the coordinator of the oral and maxillofacial surgery service at HRC, dental surgeon David Gondim, the presence of the professional in the multidisciplinary team is essential for comprehensive health care. “Through hospital dentistry, professionals can perform preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic actions for orofacial diseases, oral manifestations of systemic diseases or the consequences of relevant treatments”, he said.
Gondim adds that oral health care is essential during a hospital stay. “During hospitalization, the patient risks being affected by infections and pneumonia, which in most cases originate from the oral cavity. Here at HRC, the relationship between oral health and respiratory disease prevention is already included in the unit’s strategic indicators. Our care teams were sensitized and trained on the importance of maintaining oral health and its impact on the patient’s systemic condition,” he concludes.
Urgency and emergency
Juliana Paiva has worked as a dentist at UPA Praia do Futuro for ten years
Emergency Care Units – UPA – are units that provide urgent and urgent services and in the field of dentistry it does not change. According to the dental surgeon at UPA Praia do Futuro, Juliana Paiva, at least in 80% of cases the patient arrives at the unit complaining of severe pain in the oral region. Therefore, the challenges at work are constant. But the feeling of fulfillment due to a task accomplished prevails.
“When I see a patient who has gone through all the suffering of pain and leaves completely healed and with that happiness shining in their eyes, I know that in that moment I have fulfilled my role and made a difference in that person. life”, reports the professional.
The most common dental occurrences in UPA are inflammation of the teeth, minor mouth infections and tooth fractures, but simple care can avoid these problems. “These cases generally occur due to a lack of prevention, so it is important to brush your teeth effectively after meals and floss, in addition to visiting the dentist regularly. Remembering that routine consultations are carried out in health centers”, he explains.
HRVJ has an urgent and emergency service and performs facial trauma surgical procedures
At the Vale do Jaguaribe Regional Hospital (HRVJ), located in Limoeiro do Norte, the dental professional also works in emergency and emergency care, performing facial trauma surgical procedures. The service is new to the unit and has been running for just over two months.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeon Diego Santiago emphasizes that the area of greatest concentration is trauma, in which patients are admitted to different wards. “There is also ambulatory care, in which we wait for patients urgently and by choice, after discharge from the hospital, where they return for a possible consultation or procedure”, he recalls.
People with diabetes
People with diabetes should be careful to prevent periodontal disease
The Integrated Center for Diabetes and Hypertension (CIDH) is an outpatient unit of the Sesa network that provides dental care to patients treated at the Center itself. People with diabetes should be careful to prevent periodontal disease, that is, in the area where the teeth rest. Lack of care in this area can lead to gum infections and abscesses (a concentration of pus).
“Especially in patients with decompensated diabetes, there can be a reduction in saliva flow, lip injuries, opportunistic infections, such as herpes and oral candidiasis,” explains Lúcia Taumaturgo Aragão, a dental surgeon at CIDH. If left untreated, infectious outbreaks in the gums can cause bone destruction and tooth damage, leading to tooth loss.
Prophylaxis every six months, with plaque and stone removal, Lúcia explains, is also important for better blood glucose control, a fundamental factor in diabetes control.
In this sense, the general preventive guidelines also apply to those living with diabetes: washing well after meals, using a brush with soft bristles, changing brushes every three months and visiting the dentist every six months.
