Abstract
To describe the prevalence of use of dental services in Brazil according to states and the Federal District and its relationship with socioeconomic variables and types of services, based on the 2019 National Health Survey. This is a cross-sectional population-based study using data from the 2019 National Health Survey, which included 88,531 participants aged 18 or older. We assessed variables related to the use of dental health services according to sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics through multivariate analysis, using a Poisson regression model with robust variance. The use of dental services in the year prior to the interview was higher among adults (53.2%, confidence interval - 95%CI 52.5-53.9) than older adults (34.3%, 95%CI 33.2-34.4). The multivariate analysis revealed that the use of dental services was greater in people with better schooling (prevalence ratio - PR=2.02, 95%CI 1.87-2.18) and higher income (PR=1.54, 95%CI 1.45-1.64). States from the Southeast, Midwest, and South regions presented the highest percentages of individuals who visited a dentist in the previous year - between 49.0 and 57.6% of the population. Inequalities were found in the use of dental health services among the adult and older adult population, with regional differences; the use was higher among women, younger individuals, those with better schooling, higher income, healthier behaviors, better self-perceived oral health status, and who paid for their last dental treatment.
Highlights
Providing access to dental care is a challenge for health systems
This study presents the prevalence and characteristics of the use of dental health services in Brazil, in the different states/Federal District/regions, according to more recent data from the 2019 PNS
We identified a clear social gradient in the prevalence of dental care in the year before the interview and of payment for this care, which increased with socioeconomic strata, while the treatment in public services decreased in inverse proportion to having dental insurance
Summary
Providing access to dental care is a challenge for health systems. This challenge is a consequence of the high prevalence and incidence of oral diseases[1], the size and distribution of the dental workforce, the financial resources available, and the low priority given to oral health in public health policies. In response to the low access to oral health services, in 2004, the Ministry of Health launched the National Oral Health Policy, which promoted an expressive advance in dental health coverage in Brazilian primary health care[5]. Water fluoridation[6], the advance of primary care through the Family Health Program, and the implementation of specialized services through dental specialty centers[7] are part of the strategies to reduce social inequalities in oral health[8,9]. It is essential to assess to what extent the actions of the National Oral Health Policy have reduced inequalities in the use of and access to dental health services among the different social groups[2].
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Schedule a callMore From: Revista brasileira de epidemiologia = Brazilian journal of epidemiology
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