Brazilian oral and maxillofacial prosthesis : a dentistry potent expanding specialty

Abstract

Oral and maxillofacial prosthesis (OMP) is a specialty of Dentistry for prevention, protection, functional, and orofacial rehabilitation. Aim: The present study aimed to describe the OMP Brazilian panorama, verifying specialists, patient access forms, and service characteristics. Methods: OMP specialists were identified on the Federal Council of Dentistry (CFO) website. Additionally, professionals linked to the specialty were invited to answer a questionnaire (Google Forms®) through email or social networks. The questionnaire was available between October and November 2022. Data referring to the professional, service, and assistance were collected. Results: CFO records showed 89 active registered OMP specialists. There were 35 responses to the online questionnaire. The majority of participants were women (74.1%), who were nonspecialists (51.9%), with an average age of 54.26 years, while some were specialists in other areas of training such as dental prostheses and oral and maxillofacial surgery. Concerning services comprised universities, institutes, hospitals, and private networks, and most OMP services were located in the southeast region, especially in São Paulo, followed by the northeast and south regions. As for the developed prostheses, the most frequent etiology was malignant pathology, and the produced type is the ocular, followed by the obturator. Conclusions: We concluded that OMP is still under development in Brazil and the number of professionals is small and regionalized. There is an imperative to establish new, specialized training centers and decentralize the presence of professionals, thus expanding access and enhancing services for oral and maxillofacial prostheses throughout Brazil.