The work in oral health in the Family Health Strategy: is it a tough integration?

ABSTRACT This study analyzed the integration of the Oral Health team (eSB) to the Family Health Team (FHT) in the Federal District. It is a qualitative study where nineteen interviews, work observation and documentary analysis were conducted, and the collection and analysis, in triangulation, were based on analytical categories formulated from public policies that guide the work in oral health: teamwork, educational and intersectoral actions, bonding and reception, access and coordination of care, planning and continuing education, participation and social control, qualification of care and working conditions. The results have evidenced the integration of oral health professionals in inter-consultation, team meetings, home visits, in intersectoral actions focused on school and individual and group health education in a setting where biomedical model predominates. Communitary workers stand out as facilitators of the integration, while the oral health technicians remain invisible. It is concluded that the integration of eSB with the FHT is incipient and limited by conflicts of rules and the way work is organized in FHT in the context studied, constituting a difficult integration.