Interdisciplinary experiences between speech therapy and dentistry in the pre and postoperative period for bariatric surgery

Abstract

The aim of this study was to report the experiences of interdisciplinary care between speech therapy and dentistry, for adult patient’s pre and postoperatively of gastroplasty, in Reference Service for Bariatric Surgery at the Clinics Hospital at the Federal University of Pernambuco, in the city of Recife, northeastern Brazil. This service has a multiprofessional team of health and social assistance professionals, who monitor individuals with obesity and associated comorbidities, mainly Diabetes and Systemic Arterial Hypertension (SAH), with a view to a comprehensive and humanized treatment, aiming at a better quality of life for this target population. After the beginning of the monitoring by Speech Therapy, there was the request for the opinion and intervention of Dentistry, particularly in the context of the performance of the masticatory function. As of the year 2022, 27 adult patients, aged between 18 and 59 years old received the evaluation, orientations and interventions together, particularly regarding orofacial motricity and oral rehabilitation. In this context, the biggest challenges are related to periodontal disease, with tooth mobility and the loss of many teeth due to caries lesions and to tooth fractures due to clenching and generalized sensitivity