La salud bucal en la percepción del adolescente

Objective An individual does not always experience the best health and vitality indexes during her/his adolescence. This study evaluated young people's awareness of their oral health and the factors involved in dental maintenance and promotion Material and Method Adolescents (n=493) from the Mirim Foundation in the town of Araçatuba in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, were asked to fill in a semi-structured questionnaire. Results 68.4 % of the youngsters interviewed regarded oral health as referring to hygiene and 16.2 % to physical appearance; 53.6 % of the group perceived their oral health to be good and 24 % optimum. 90.1 % indicated oral hygiene when asked how oral health could be ensured; however, only 4.8 % mentioned brushing their tongues. Physical appearance (62.9 %) was one of the main reasons stated as being important for teeth. A statistically significant relationship was observed between perception of regular dental and mouth health and having visited the dentist at least six months beforehand (x2=30.75; p<0.05). Conclusion Even though the youngsters had a general idea regarding their oral health, its maintenance and promotion, better information should be made available regarding such topics and be approached through health education so that these adolescents can have good oral health for the rest of their lives, as well as becoming knowledge multiplying agents for those who do not have access to the same information.

Percepción del cirujano-dentista respecto del uso del consentimiento informado en el tratamiento odontológico

The objective of this study was to evaluate: the profile of the surgeon-dentist that undergoes a course in specialization at the Odontology Faculty of Aracatuba/UNESP, Brazil; if they requested informed consent from the patient and/or their legal representative before the realization of procedures, and if the treatment was decided upon with the patient. It was elaborated, validated and applied in questionnaire form, and the data obtained was analyzed by the program EPI-INFO 3.3 The conclusion was, given that surgeon-dentists still do not obtain any type of document before beginning treatment, a large percentage of them are totally vulnerable if submitted to ethical or legal prosecution and that it is necessary to be aware of this aspect.

Diferentes percepciones de un mismo ambiente: la cuestión del género en la enseñanza de la ciência

This paper relates some considerations resulting from a thesis study in Biological Sciences held at Universidade Estadual Paulista - Unesp, Bauru Campus. Considering the perceptual act endowed with simultaneous actions of the cognitive apparatus and the individual's life history as the merleau-pontyana phenmomenon tells us, the work aimed to identify how boys and girls in elementary school realize a natural savanna. The study was realized with the extension project "Walking and learning at the cerrado” in the Center for Memory and Dissemination of Science and Technology (CDMCT) of Postgraduate Education for Science in the same institution. Classes were held in these practical activities, monitored by undergraduate and graduate students, and, the project focuses on students from public and private schools in Bauru and region, and other visiting groups. Data collection was performed using the representations in the form of free drawings of students of their environment after the activity. Through qualitative and quantitative analysis, the results allowed us to highlight differences in the way in which genders perceived and thus represented the fragment of cerrado vegetation. The male drawings contained a larger amount of non-living elements, whereas the representations by women, besides their botanical details, often drew on animals and people. The framework of the drawings by the boys took the nearest way, whereas by the girls more often considered the representations and the entire context of the site visited. So, we emphasize the need for further discussions within the perception of the environment to consider differences in the representations of boys and girls within the context of the teaching of natural sciences, seeking, however, to avoid unsubstantiated preconceptions that may cause any degree of discrimination.