Medical Emergencies teaching in Dentistry undergraduate courses in Southeastern Brazil.

Aim: The aim of this study is to offer an overview of the Medical Emergencies (ME) discipline offer in Dentistry graduations in southeastern Brazil and to observe the curricular characteristics of the discipline when present. Methods: This cross-sectional documentary study analyzed the available curricular frameworks in the official websites of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in southeastern Brazil registered on the Ministry of Education's e-MEC website. The data were analyzed and tabulated using the GraphPad Prism 8.1.2 software, being described by absolute and relative frequencies. Fisher's exact test was used to compare the proportions between public and private institutions. Results: Of the 176 courses in the Southeast, 144 were included in the study for providing access to the curriculum, 19 (13.19%) were public and 125 (86.81%) were private. Only 27 (18.75%) of the HEI present the discipline of ME, with a greater tendency of supply in private HEIs (20.80%) when compared to public HEIs (5.26%), but this difference was not statistically significant (p> 0.05). As a positive aspect, the discipline is predominantly mandatory (88.88%), and the with regard to the teaching methodology is predominantly theoretical (68.18%). The average workload is 50.14 hours (SD=19.54). Conclusions: In only 18.75% of the dental institutions in Southeast Brazil, ME discipline were offered. When offered, the discipline is predominantly theoretical and mandatory. This study raises an important discussion regarding the need to include specific and mandatory subjects on ME in the dentistry curricula in Brazil and reflects the need to update and standardize the national curricular guidelines for dentistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]