Saúde bucal dos refugiados no âmbito global: panorama atual

Abstract

Refugees are a group of people who are outside their country of origin due to a well founded fear of persecution for various reasons. They are a vulnerable population, and their diverse previous traumatic experiences are reflected in their health, resulting in poor oral health. The aim of this study was to evaluate, through a literature review, the oral health data of this population, focusing on the most prevalent conditions, analyzing access to dental services and the barriers they face. A search was carried out in the PubMed, Scopus, and Embase databases using the descriptors “refugees AND oral health.” An initial sample of 525 articles was identified, and after applying the exclusion criteria (duplicates, articles not available in full, articles published more than 5 years ago, and articles outside the topic), 39 articles remained to form the body of the work. Based on the consulted literature, it can be observed that refugees have high rates of untreated caries, periodontal disease, and malocclusion. The vast majority access services only in cases of emergency or pain, and the most frequent barriers are financial and linguistic.