Health as the absence of pain: self-perception and access to dental services for women deprived of their freedom

Abstract

This study aimed to understand the self-perception of oral health and experience of access to dental services among women deprived of liberty. A study was conducted at the Penitenciária Consuelo Nasser in Aparecida de Goiânia (GO), in which interviews were conducted with 15 participants, and non-participant observation and field diary records were recorded. The data were analyzed using the Thematic Content Analysis technique. The sociodemographic profile of the participants was as follows: young, single mothers without family support and religion, with sentences of less than eight years and drug trafficking as the main reason for imprisonment. Negative self-perception of oral health was observed due to pain, aesthetics, tooth loss, and insufficient access to services. Lack of a primary prison care team, dependence on the male penitentiary, punctual and mutilating care, and lack of regulated access to the Health Care Network were observed. Although they have habitual oral hygiene practices and access to some supplies, they feel abandoned regarding oral health promotion and prevention actions. The inequities found reflect the need to implement dental care services so that women deprived of their liberty have their right to oral health care guaranteed.