Evaluation of the availability of secondary dental care within the Brazilian public health system: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

To achieve the goal of comprehensive care provided between primary and secondary care, the interface must be without barriers. This cross-sectional study evaluated the availability of secondary dental care services in public health services in Brazil. This study focused on reference Dental Specialty Centers (DSCs) with 18,114 Oral Health Teams (OHTs) that adhered to the second cycle of the “National Program for Improving Access and Quality of Primary Care” (PMAQ-AB). Questions about the availability of DSCs for patient referrals by OHTs and the type of dental specialties provided by municipalities in DSCs were analyzed descriptively and compared per Brazilian macro-region. Seventy-five percent of OHTs reported the existence of DSCs for patient referral. The most available specialties at DSCs included minor oral surgery (90.1%), endodontics (82.0%), patients with special needs (81.5%), and periodontics (80.5%). The OHTs presented a mean of 5.77 (±2.08) referable specialties. OHTs from the South and Southeast regions reported the availability of more specialized consultations. The most available specialties in all regions included minor oral surgery, endodontics, patients with special needs, and periodontics. The best results were found in the Southeast, followed by the Northeast and South regions. Brazilian public oral health shows a structure of secondary oral health care, however, a difference was observed among the OHTs, especially as regards the frequency and availability of specialties. More investments in public oral health care in Brazil are required to improve the availability of secondary dental care in regions with lower economic development.