Orthodontics in oral public health policies: an example of equity in Juiz de Fora Federal University

Due to the great prevalence of malocclusions; to the great epidemic transformation of oral health, with the decreased number of decays, and based on the principles of the Brazilian Constitution of integrality and equity, it became necessary to incorporate orthodontics procedures in public health care. In this sense, one suggestion would be the use of services offered by public universities, which, besides forming human resources, give rise to parallel social policies. This paper shows the example of the Juiz de Fora Federal University's orthodontic clinic, a regional reference pole in oral health, and the role it plays in the services rendered to the population. It evinces the different facets of malocclusions that have bad influence on people's lives, in social, psychological, and biological aspects, and reviews the history of oral health in Brazil, concerning orthodontic care, which by its own importance and by legal rights should be included in the health services provided by the Unified Health System. The text proposes an ideal screening system for such cases, comprising economical, biological and psycho-social criteria, gathering oral health and equity.

Orthodontics; public policies; oral health; inclusion; orthodontic clinic