The pandemic and the reformulation of an extension project about oral health education

report of a year of experience with social media

Abstract

The objective of this article is report the one-year experience of the Sorriso Saudável Futuro Brilhante extension project, from the Department of Dentistry of the State University of Maringá, whose activities, previously purely face-to-face, as a result of the pandemic, were adapted to the remote form. In order to avoid the interruption of education and health promotion activities in the community and also to keep the participants motivated, electronic means were used. The team, composed of 16 academics coordinated by a professor, was divided into 4 groups (G1: production of informative digital material; G2: collection and transfer of donations for external actions; G3: social network management and dissemination of activities; G4: production of scientific content). Actions and content were posted on the Instagram page. Two events aimed at the dental community were also organized. Teacher/student communication became easier with the creation of the WhatsApp group, and the Instagram profile reached more than 900 followers in one year, breaking boundaries for the dissemination of content. The events were held free of charge, online, with national and international speakers and participants from several Brazilian states, with strong repercussions in the academic sphere. It is concluded that, although remote activities do not replace face-to-face activities, the new project format proved to be innovative, dynamic and beneficial for all involved, in addition to presenting low cost and great potential for coverage, being able to work independently or even add to face-to-face project activities, in future actions, when the pandemic comes to an end.