Resumo (EN)
Introduction - The aim of this study was to describe the professional profile of dentists of the basic public health service of Campinas and analyze their suitability for performance in the Brazilian National Health System. Materials and Methods - The studied population consisted of 259 dentists, among the. 147 answered to a structured quiz with questions to approach the profile these professionals. The quiz, complemented with four dissertating questions, served to verify the vision that these dentists have about public health policy in which they are involved and verify the relation between the instruction and practice realized nowadays. Results - The results showed a pre-dominance of females, age raging form 37 to 46 years, mainly married, with mean professional experience of 17 years, nevertheless without preparation for the Brazilian National Health System during undergraduate period. It was observed that 27% of the dentists participating in this study did postgraduation course in public health and 75% had some practical training course at Brazilian National Health System organized by the Campinas City Hall. Conclusions - It has been concluded that permanent education was fundamental for approximation with the Brazilian National Health System, the Family Health Program and the Paideia program.