Oral Health Education to the Community in the Municipality of Santa Maria: An Experience Report

Oral health care, with a focus on comprehensive health, for children and adults who are socially vulnerable, helps the development of autonomy for these individuals.Oral health has implications that range from insulin resistance, due to periodontal disease, to much more complex systemic complications, involving the cardiovascular system or even neurodegenerative pathology.In view of this assumption, the action reported in this work was carried out by the Academic League of Public Health and Dental Epidemiology of the ``Universidade Franciscana`` (LASCEO) together with academics from UFN, with the central objective of promoting health education, aiming to provide equity for population participating in the event.An interprofessional action was carried out, in which 12 dentistry students carried out oral hygiene guidance using mannequins, brushes, teaching materials, screening for oral comorbidities in 150 people, including children and adolescents, in order to refer them for dental care.Given what has been mentioned so far, oral self-care practices expressing playfulness, associating dental care and listing a variety of elements for the activity were punctual.Furthermore, nursing students offered the third dose of the vaccine against COVID-19, rapid STI tests, distribution of condoms and blood pressure and blood sugar screening.It must be noted that the activity provided integration between academics and the community, in addition to contact with other realities and enhanced theoretical knowledge about humanization and collective health in future professionals, causing a bidirectional gain.