Oral pathology and oral medicine in Latin American countries: current stage

• Éder Gerardo Santos-Leite ^[10] ; Layanne Sobral ^[11] ; Gerardo Gilligan ^[1] ; Janeth Liliam Flores-Ramos ^[2] ; Wilfredo Alejandro González-Arriagada ^[12] ; Claudia Pena Vega ^[3] ; Patricia Reiván-Ortiz ^[4] ; María del Carmen González-Galván ^[5] ; Wilson Delgado-Azañero ^[6] ; Ronell Bologna-Molina ^[7] ; Mariana Villarroel-Dorrego ^[13] ; Ricardo Martinez-Pedraza ^[8] ; Bruno Augusto Benevenuto de Andrade ^[9] ; Hercílio Martelli-Júnior ^[14]
  1. [1] Universidad Nacional de Córdoba

     Universidad Nacional de Córdoba

     Argentina

     
  2. [2] Universidad Mayor de San Andrés

     Universidad Mayor de San Andrés

     Bolivia

     
  3. [3] Universidad Nacional de Colombia

     Universidad Nacional de Colombia

     Colombia

     
  4. [4] Universidad Viña del Mar

     Universidad Viña del Mar

     Viña del Mar, Chile

     
  5. [5] Universidad Nacional de Asunción

     Universidad Nacional de Asunción

     Paraguay

     
  6. [6] Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia

     Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia

     Perú

     
  7. [7] Universidad de la República

     Universidad de la República

     Uruguay

     
  8. [8] Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León

     Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León

     México

     
  9. [9] Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

     Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

     Brasil

     
  10. [10] Oral Diagnosis Department, Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil
  11. [11] Department of Oral Diagnosis, Dental School, State University of Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil
  12. [12] Service of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, School of Dentistry, Universidad de los Andes, Santiago, Chile
  13. [13] 1Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas Venezuela
  14. [14] Department of Oral Diagnosis, Dental School, State University of Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil; 3Center for Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies, Dental School, University of José Rosario Vellano, Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil

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• Localización: Medicina oral, patología oral y cirugía bucal. Ed. inglesa, ISSN-e 1698-6946, Vol. 29, Nº. 4 (July), 2024
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Oral Pathology (OP) and Oral Medicine (OM) are specialties in dentistry whose main objective is the diagnosis and treatment of oral and maxillofacial diseases, and aspects related to the academic training of professionals and fields of practice are distinct and heterogeneous around the world. This study aimed to evaluate professional training and areas of activity in OP and OM in Latin American countries.

    A questionnaire was sent to 11 countries, with a professional in each country responsible for answering it. The questionnaire had 21 questions related to the process of professional training, areas of practice, the existence of scientific events in each country, and also collected demographic and population information.

    OP and OM are practiced in all the countries studied, but the specialty is not recognized in all of them. Brazil was the first to recognize both as a specialty. Postgraduate programs designed to train specialists are available in various countries. Two countries offer residency programs, 6 countries provide specialization courses, 6 offer master's programs, and 3 have doctoral programs. Brazil boasts the highest number of undergraduate courses (n=412), while Uruguay has the lowest (n=2). Professional societies representing the specialty exist in ten countries. Brazil has the highest number of OP and OM specialists (n=422 and 1,072), while Paraguay has the smallest number (n=1 and 3).

    Although both specialties are widely practiced around the globe, professional training, the number of dentists trained and the fields of professional practice are very different between the countries studied.