Dental care in social programs for socially vulnerable populations on the perspective of the Uruguay Trabaja program

Abstract

This paper discusses the characteristics of the oral health subprogram ‘Uruguay Trabaja’ (UT), in Montevideo, and identifies finished, unfinished, and abandoned dental treatments from 2008 to 2015. The implementation of the UT, its characteristics, and the subprogram aimed at oral health are described through documentary analysis. The Program is conceptually discussed according to two categorical levels. The first refers to the macro-social context, related to the expansion of dental care coverage integrated into social protection systems, while the second one is based on the systematic observation of the dental care included in social programs. The UT is a nine-month social program which occurs every year for people between 18 and 65 years old, in social and economic vulnerability situations and unemployed for a long term. It aims at improving employment chances and the participants’ social integration. Comprehensive dental care is one of the benefits of the program, as it is not available at the National Integrated Health System. Of the 2.592 dental treatments initiated, 941 (36,3%) were completed. Focused programs such as the UT should be articulated to universal social policies, which must adequately meet the needs of the entire population. Comprehensive dental care should be included into the National Integrated Health System, to ensure the right to oral health.