Resumo

SALES PERES, Sílvia Helena de Carvalho et al. Students' and general population's knowledge about the use and commerce of human teeth. RGO, Rev. gaúch. odontol. (Online) [online]. 2012, vol.60, n.1, pp. 7-12. ISSN 1981-8637.

Objective This study investigated undergraduates' and general population's knowledge about the methods used for tooth procurement and donation and their destination. Methods The sample consisted of all undergraduates from a public institution (n=200) and 500 residents from the city of Bauru, São Paulo. They were asked to answer a self-explanatory questionnaire. Results A total of 56.5% and 71.6% of undergraduates and Bauru residents, respectively, answered the questionnaire. Statistical analysis was based on absolute and relative frequencies. The results showed that 88.5% of the undergraduates had already used human teeth in laboratory activities and at least 8% of them had also used human teeth in research. Most (80.5%) teeth came from donations. Some (59.3%) study participants kept the unused teeth and some (29.2%) donated them. Bauru residents reported that dental surgeons hardly ever asked them to donate their teeth and demonstrated little knowledge about the existence of tooth banks, although most had already extracted at least one tooth. Conclusion The results suggest that undergraduates have difficulty implementing measures for tooth use and procurement. Activities of human tooth banks need to be disclosed not only to undergraduates but also to the general population.

Palavras-chave : Bioethics; Legislation; Organ and tissue procurement; Tooth.