INTRODUCTION:
The inclusion of oral health professionals within the Family Health Strategy was legislated in December, 2000, by the Ministery of Health. These professionals are included in a new context which challenges the traditional education of fragmented knowledge and presents the challenge of interprofessional work.
OBJECTIVE:
To analyze the profile and the interprofessional practice of dentists working in the FHS in the city of Marília, São Paulo.
MATERIAL AND METHOD:
In 2012, a structured questionnaire and an adaptation of the Readiness Interprofissional Learning Scale (RIPLS), given to 34 dentists working in the FHS in the city of Marília, São Paulo, were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics and the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance with SNK multiple comparisons post-test, at a significance level of p < 0.05, were used for data analysis.
RESULT:
The dentists are in the 31 to 40 year age range (70.6%), are mostly women (82.4%) and 79.41% hold a specialization in Public and Family Health. Comparisons of the differences of the mean scores of the responses among professionals, with and without graduate study in this area, were statistically significant in the statements regarding the amount of human resources and interprofessional work.
CONCLUSION:
Graduate study in Public and Family Health provides dentists with background on the integration of teamwork, the understanding about the process of interprofessional work, the enhancement of common and collaborative professional skills and thus minimizes the effects of an incomplete health team. It is considered that professionals without graduate study are restricted to their traditional and reductionist preparation.
Dentists; family health; patient care team; interprofissional relations