Caregivers of persons with special needs (PSN) experience a variety of burdens and elevated levels of stress and anxiety throughout their lives, leading to a physical, psychological, emotional, social, and financial overload. This analytical study with a cross-sectional design and a quantitative approach aimed to appraise quality of life (QoL), reflecting the daily workload of informal family caregivers of PSN. Methods: Four structured, validated questionnaires were utilised: sociodemographic, WHOQOL-bref, Zarit Burden Interview, and Functional Independence Measure Scale in 60 anonymous volunteered respondents. Results: The informal caregivers were middle-aged mothers (81.7%), married (55%), stay-at-home spouses (60%) with high school degrees (51.6%), providing a care for their relatives with special needs for more than 20 years (41.8%). Most of the PSN were diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD, 61.8%), had a wide spectrum of intellectual deficits, and required constant support for their basic needs. They were mainly adolescent males without physical limitations (83.4%) on disorder-specific medications (90%). The study revealed that those caregivers had a median perception of QoL considering four essential domains, with a highest score recorded for the physical domain (64.3 +/− 16.1 SD). A moderate burden level prevailed, revealing neither a correlation between the workload expressed by caregivers and the patient’s functional capacity, nor in the performance of daily self-care tasks (Spearman correlation test p > 0.05), apart from the environmental domain (mild correlation = 0.335, p < 0.05). Conclusions: The reported average level of overload associated with QoL of informal caregivers exists, affecting a vast proportion of the respondents. The absence of a direct association between workload and the functional capacity/daily self-care tasks can be related to the significant personal dedication of family caregivers, regardless of their socioeconomic status.

In special care dentistry, general anesthesia (GA) is considered as an alternative option to facilitate treatment for uncooperative patients with special needs (PSN) who require invasive dental interventions. Objective: to evaluate the profile of dental treatment procedures performed and the characteristics of PSN who underwent dental treatment under GA, provided by private and public healthcare providers. Methods: A retrospective, observational study involving a sample of 100 PSN treated in hospital and specialist secondary care settings. Demographic data and clinical information were collected. The analysis of data was performed using descriptive analysis and frequency statistical tests. Results: out of 100 participants, 63% of the PSN who received care in the private sector and the remaining 37% of PSN registered with public-funded care providers, aged 6 to 80 years old, were treated under GA. Autistic spectrum disorder was the most common medical diagnosis recorded (33%). More than half (52%) of the PSN treated by private care providers sought specialist care in an outpatient setting prior to GA vs. 5% of the PSN treated by public-funded providers. The utilization of sedation prior to GA was more common in the private sector. A vast majority (86%) of all subjects underwent multiple dental extractions (86%) and restorations (62%). Conclusions: comprehensive dental care under GA, which composes an integral part of special care dentistry, can be safely provided in a hospital setting, in both private and public sectors. While early intervention using sedation and behavioral management partially mitigates the need for dental care under GA, the vast majority of PSN may require dental treatment under GA in future to facilitate complex dental care.

• Os autores declaram que não há conflito de interesse. ResumoObjetivo: analisar a trajetória da graduação em Odontologia no Brasil; apontar a ociosidade de vagas e identificar os atuais recursos humanos de odontólogos. Material e Métodos: o estudo quantitativo-descritivo utilizou dados públicos do Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anísio Teixeira na análise da oferta pública e privada de cursos, vagas e concluintes no período de 1995 a 2015, nas regiões brasileiras, bem como a ociosidade de vagas através da relação dos totais em cada ano, das vagas x ingressos. Através do Conselho Federal de Odontologia, identificou-se até dezembro de 2016 a atual disponibilidade e distribuição de odontólogos no país. Resultados: observou-se grande expansão, iniquidade geográfica e privatização da formação; uma significativa ociosidade de vagas e, ainda, insuficiente disponibilidade e inadequada distribuição de recursos humanos no país para a assistência odontológica. Conclusão: destaca-se que a grande expansão do ensino através da sua privatização, a formação de odontólogos concentrada na região Sudeste, aliada à ociosidade de vagas, geram um desequilíbrio na oferta de profissionais para a assistência odontológica de forma equânime conforme preconiza o Sistema Único de Saúde. Palavras-chave: Recursos humanos em saúde; Odontólogos; Formação profissional. AbstrAct Objective: this study aimed to analyze the trajectory of undergraduate dentistry in Brazil, refer to the insufficient admissions for the course, and identify the recent availability and distribution of dentists in the country. Material and Methods: this quantitative-descriptive study used the public data from the National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira to analyze the public and private offer of dentistry courses, admission vacancies, and graduated professionals from 1995 to 2015, in the Brazilian regions, as well as the idleness of vacancies through the ratio of totals in each year, of vacancies x admissions. Through the FederalCouncil of Dentistry, the recent availability and distribution of dentists in the country was identified until December 2016. Results: there was great expansion of dental courses, geographic inequality, and privatization of formation; significant job vacancy for dental care; and insufficient availability and inadequate distribution of dentists in the country. Conclusion: notably, the great expansion of dental education through private courses, dental training concentrated in the southeast part of the country, and the insufficient admissions in certain regions, lead to an unequal distribution of dental care professionals, according to the Brazilian Unified National Health System.