General Labor Well-Being in Latin American Dentists during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This study aimed to determine the general labor well-being of Latin American dentists according to sociodemographic characteristics during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a final sample of 2214 participants from 11 countries. A validated online questionnaire on general work well-being was used (data collection period from 1 June to 10 July 2021), containing two dimensions: psychosocial well-being and collateral effects. The sociodemographic characteristics of the dentists and their perception of the economic impact of the pandemic were also recorded. A multivariate linear regression analysis was performed (hierarchical regression model) to evaluate the joint effect of the explanatory variables on labor well-being and the changes in the variance between each model. A score of psychosocial well-being of 233.6 + 40.2 and collateral effects of 45 + 20.1 was found. Psychosocial well-being was associated with sex, country of origin, academic training achieved, type of dental activity, and perceived impact during the pandemic (p < 0.05). Somatization was frequently manifested through back pain (88.2%) and muscular tensions (87.2%). Women, those who worked 41 or more hours and had between 1 to 15 years of professional experience presented a greater collateral effect (p < 0.001). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic a year and a half after it began on the labor well-being of Latin American dentists was evidenced with important interactions with social characteristics.

Un acercamiento a la situación de la salud bucal en Uruguay / An approach to the oral health situation in Uruguay

El estado de salud bucal en Uruguay fue conocido luego del relevamiento nacional po-blacional realizado entre 2010 y 2011. Las patologías más prevalentes detectadas fueron la caries y las paradenciopatias. Además, se estudió maloclusiones, pérdida dentaria y lesiones de la mucosa. La información se complementó con otros estudios epidemiológi-cos, como el realizado en relación con trastornos témporo mandibulares, que evidenció que la mitad de la población uruguaya presenta síntomas y/o signos vinculados con dicho desorden. El Sistema Nacional Integrado de Salud, que funciona desde 2008, concentra efectores públicos y privados y ha intentado cumplir con un Programa Nacional de Salud Bucal. Brinda prevención, promoción y tratamiento de patologías orales de complejidad menor, por lo que quedan muchas prestaciones por fuera del sistema. La formación de recursos humanos es suficiente para cubrir las necesidades de la población, pero la odon-tología en general, y la especializada aún más, resultan muy costosas y no son accesibles a todos los que la precisan.

Oral health status in Uruguay was known after the national population survey carried out between 2010 and 2011. The most detected prevalent pathologies were caries and para-denciopathies. In addition, malocclusions, dental loss and mucosal lesions were studied. The information was complemented with other epidemiological studies, in relation with to temporomandibular disorders, which showed that half of the Uruguayan population presents symptoms and / or signs related to said disorder. The National Integrated Health System, which has been operating since 2008, concentrates public and private effectors and has attempted to comply with a National Oral Health Program. It provides preven-tion, promotion and treatment of oral pathologies of lesser complexity, so many benefits remain outside the system. Training human resources is sufficient to meet the needs of http://dx.doi.org/10.15381/os.v23i3.18134 the population, but dentistry in general, and specialized, are very expensive and are not accessible to all who need it