The program Reporting Pathsfrom the TV Brasill, vehicle of Brazilian Communication Company (EBC) won the Crosp Journalism Award, in the television journalism category. Promoted by the São Paulo Regional Dental Council (CROSP), the award is in its 7th edition and recognizes the best journalistic works that address health-related topics, with a focus on dentistry.
The winning episode, titled “For the Right to Smilereveals that a large part of the Brazilian population still suffers from the loss of teeth, a reflection of the difficulties in accessing dental care. The report shows that, among elderly people aged 65 and over, 75% have lost all their teeth, which often leads people to hide their mouths with their hands.
With the implementation, in May 2023, of mandatory free dental care by the Unified Health System (SUS), Brasil Sorridente stopped being just a government program and became consolidated as a State policy. The report shows how the change in approach has helped to improve the population’s oral health, especially in poorer regions.
The Caminhos da Reportagem team visited several locations to portray the impact of public policies. The program visited Jardim de Piranhas, in Rio Grande do Norte, one of the first municipalities with less than 20 thousand inhabitants to receive resources from the Ministry of Health. There, the health network already offers everything from basic services to specialized treatments, such as prosthetics, treatment root canal and frenectomy, a surgery performed on babies to remove excess tissue from the lingual or labial frenulum.
In places where specialized services have not yet arrived, the demand for tooth extractions remains high, due to the prevalence of cavities. This is the case of the Sucurijuquara quilombo, on Ilha de Mosqueiro (PA). The reporting team visited the site and listened to the population’s demands. The episode also shows the importance of prevention initiatives to avoid the need for more complex procedures. In Pará, a dentist travels every day from Belém to Combu Island to teach the population how to clean their teeth correctly, especially in schools.
In Natal, the capital of Rio Grande do Norte, the team also highlighted the role of specialized dentistry in the SUS in helping to identify victims of sexual abuse, addressing the importance of multidisciplinary work in public health.
About the Award
The CROSP award is aimed at all Brazilian and foreign press professionals and recognizes the work of press and media professionals who address the topic “Oral Health”. The award reinforces the relevance of Caminhos da Reportagem as one of TV Brasil’s main spaces for discussing topics of social interest and public health, always with a close eye on the realities experienced by the Brazilian population.
Watch the full episode below:
