Educação ambiental como estratégia para inserção da sustentabilidade na formação em odontologia

This thesis proposes environmental education as a strategy for the inclusion of sustainability in the academic education of higher level. The dentistry course has been the object of study, which is justified by the recognition of the need for reflection on environmental issues in the dental academia, initially based on professional experience of the author as a dental surgeon. The aim of this study is to investigate the scientific production of dentistry and its content related to environmental issues, in addition to expanding discussions and reflections on the need to insert environmental education as academic content. With the specific purpose of verifying the amount and analyze the content of scientific articles involving issues related to sustainability in dentistry, Chapter 01 presents research in leading journals portals available on the internet. Works were surveyed where sustainability and related issues were present and placed in a theoretical framework that analyzes the dental service inclusion in the dominant economic model. These procedures are intended to prove the hypothesis that the dental profession does not produce significant scientific content that relates the profession to the environment and sustainability. A literature review was conducted with the statement of dentistry changes from its origins to the front position to the dominant development model and exemplification of the deleterious effects of this model on the environment. In addition, there was a scientific research in journals portals available on the internet and investigated the amount and content of scientific articles involving issues related to sustainability in dentistry. Chapter 02 has the specific purpose of providing content to expand discussions and reflections on the need to insert environmental education in undergraduate courses in dentistry, such as insertion strategy into a new development model guided by sustainability. In this, students questionnaires were given the 8th dentistry course of the period the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), to be understood environmental perception of learners and were obtained grants for proof of the thesis that environmental education applied dentistry has the potential to make people aware and willing to act practicing and propagating sustainability in their conduct. The overall results indicate little scientific production, as the research and work that relates to dentistry to sustainability and the issues related to the environment have not significantly been present in the syllabus of the undergraduate courses in dentistry, despite the interest shown by survey respondents When such issues are addressed. In this context, it is proposed fostering actions to environmental education, so that dental professionals are engaged in the construction of a new development model based on sustainability, as despite the environmental theme seems to be little explored in the academic and scientific world of dentistry, there interest from students and great potential multiplier for appropriate environmental behavior. After proving the hypothesis that the environment-related content are poorly explored in the academic and scientific world of dentistry, the main conclusions were recognizing the importance of environmental education as an interdisciplinary tool for environmental thematic approach in undergraduate courses dentistry, in addition to implementing this new pedagogical proposal in the professional practice of dentists, given their potential multiplier for environmental knowledge.