Percepção dos idosos sobre saúde bucal

The assessment of oral health status in elderly patients is essential for the development of specific health policies. The prevalence of oral diseases is high in this population. The self-perception of oral health conditions influences the demand for oral care and quality of life for seniors. The aim of this study was to assess self-perception of oral health status in 100 elderly of both sexes, aged 60 years or older and functionally independent the Basic Health Unit of Felipe Camarão II, Natal, Brazil. For comparison of self-perception data was collected in Bom Pastor, Natal / RN. In this research data were collected a questionnaire grouped into two parts. The first part with the socio-demographic data, subjective and objective condition of oral health and access to the service, the second part GOHAI Index. This index consists of 12 items that make it possible to obtain information involving aspects of chewing, speech, phonation, and self-assessed oral health. The results were subjected to statistical tests of Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis test (α = 0.05), to identify possible predictors of self-evaluation. As a result, 69% were female, ages ranged from 60 to 86 years, with a median of 65 years. In relation to marital status 48% were married. For the years of study, the sample had an average of 3 years. For the last visit to the dentist, only 27% of seniors had visited the Dentist for less than a year. Regarding the questions about the presence of gingival and dental problems were answered by 46% and 21% respectively. The data on the perception of your teeth and gums, 44%. The index showed GOHAI value for self-perception of 30 points to Felipe Camarão and 28 points for the Bom Pastor, both considered a low perception. We identified predictors of self-rated number of people in the room, participate in any associational activity, there is problems with your teeth and your gums. Concluded a negative self-perception of oral health condition by Gone in both areas, influenced by socioeconomic and cultural issues, although they realize the importance given to oral health, but by the misfortunes of other prominent favored little valuing of oral health

Avaliação longitudinal do impacto da saúde bucal na estratégia saúde da família em Natal

As a result of the financial incentive provided by the GM / MS 1.444, since 2000, Brazil has experienced a substantial increase in the number of oral health services at the Family Health Strategy. There is, however, evidence that these teams have produced qualitatively different experiences which do not translate necessarily into improved quality of life and health. Thus, evaluative research of great importance. This study aims to assess the impact of the Family Health Strategy in oral health in a longitudinal perspective natalense the years 2006 and 2009. This is an intervention study whose design is a community trial in parallel, nearly randomized. The sample consisted of census tracts covered by oral health teams in the Family Health and the Traditional Model (Basic Health Units and non-FHS Program of Community Health Agents and areas not covered.) The sample was determined by drawing ten census tracts to form the experimental group and ten other sectors for the control group by pairing intentional based on socio-economic and geographic. To check the net effect of the intervention was performed multivariate analysis by Poisson regression. As a result of cross-sectional analysis of year 2009, it was found that the effects of the ESF in Natal were satisfactory only for the variables of injuries and for other purposes without and with negative impact on stock coverage reclaimers. However, the longitudinal analysis revealed that the ESB / ESF improved their performance in dealing with grievances, access and coverage of the type of actions and this fact is independent of age, sex and social and economic conditions. In other employees' words are related to the presence of the Family Health Strategy in the region. However it does not say that both models under study (the Family Health Strategy Model and Traditional) are different in terms of performance and it is pertinent to reflect on the need for further development of evaluation studies that use other approaches able to clarify the dynamics of the process whose results can come to the knowledge of the actors responsible for leading the ESF and encourage them to incorporate the assessment in their routine

Avaliação em saúde bucal na perspectiva do usuário: enfoque ao estudo da acessibilidade organizacional

Due to the fact of oral health sector reestructuration within Brazilian public health politics, this work had the object of evaluating, under users point of view, the accessibility to oral health services in Santa Cruz (RN), focusing on the organizational aspect. To achieve this, questionnaires were given to users in their homes, considering the censitary sector. Nine sectors of the urban zone were evaluated, selected by chance, and one from the rural zone, selected by convenience. The sample was composed by 194 users, calculated considering the estimated prevalence of event represented by the indicator I ve never been to the dentist + I ve been to the dentist more than three years ago from the Projeto SB Brasil Report . To complement the results, interviews were made with others actors involved in the process of oral health care: professionals (dentists) and manager (Health Municipal Secretary). From the data obtained it was possible to identify that 12,9% of the population had never visited the dentist, and that the search for the service was not influenced by the users individual and socioeconomics characteristics, excepting the gender. It was verified that 36,1% of the users went to the dentist in less than one year, with the youngests (p<0,05) being among those who went to the dentist more frequently. 63,3% of the interviewed related that they found some kind of difficulty when they search for dentistry services, with the difficulties for schedule, the queues and the long wait among the most cited. It was identified that 43,2% of the users wait three weeks or more for the appointment. It is still pointed out that 71,4% of the interviewed find difficulties to get urgency appointment, the long wait to be attended by the dentist was the most found. 92,9% and 94,1% of the interviewed had never been headed to especialized appointments and complementary exams, respectively. Due to the data founded, it was possible to verify that the accessibility to oral health services in Santa Cruz (RN) is damaged by factors related to the organization of public polices developed, mainly in relation to the working process

Avaliação da saúde bucal na atenção básica: a perspectiva do usuário

Nowadays, the basic attention in health works according to the Health Family Program (HFP), which is responsible for the organization of the health services with view to provide an appropriate attendance to the needs of the population. Its expansion is expressive in whole country and, the oral health, included in this process, has been seen as a possibility of change the health practices centered in the disease. In face of this perspective, the proposal of study is to discover possible changes in the health care model of oral health in a district, made possible through the perception, evaluation and degree of satisfaction of the user s health service. To reach such objectives, the district of Macaíba in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, was chosen for operational subjects, such as time of implantation of HFP and great covering of this program. The current research used interviews structured with objectives and subjectives questions and questionnaires of socioeconomic characterization addressed to two hundred and seventy (270) individuals (ninety users of an Urban PSF, ninety of a Rural PSF and ninety of an unit non PSF). The analysis of the data was accomplished through the software SPSS/99, that made possible a statistical and analytic appreciation. The HFP units and non HFP units has shown to sort the common odontology problems of the community, and this didn't establish a direct relationship with the general satisfaction. On the other hands, the programmed consultation is related with lager satisfaction of the users. The access form to the odontology treatment of the Units, the satisfaction with the attendance rendered by the dentist and the equip, enough dentists for the community and the social class of the user were decisive for the general satisfaction with the service of oral health. On the other hand, variables as age and education, resolution of the problem and physical conditions of the unit didn't influence the general satisfaction. In spite of the progresses in the implantation of the oral health in ESF, preventive activities, visits at home, access and social participation still reproduce the traditional model of attendance, showing a primary change process

Impacto do Programa de Saúde da Família sobre indicadores de saúde bucal na população de Natal -RN

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the Family Health Program (FHP) on a number of oral health indicators in the population of Natal, Brazil. The study is characterized as a quasi-random community intervention trial. The intervention is represented by the implementation of an Oral Health Team (OHT) in the FHP prior to the study. A total of 15 sectors covered by the FHP with OHT were randomly drawn and paired with another 15 sectors, based on socioeconomic criteria, not covered by the teams. A few sectors were lost over the course of the study, resulting in a final number of 22 sectors, 11 covered and 11 not covered. We divided the non-covered areas into two conditions, one in which we considered areas that had some type of assistance program such as the Community Agents Program (CAP), FHP without OHT, BHU (Basic Health Unit) or no assistance, and the other, in which we considered areas that had only BHU or no assistance. Community Health Agents (CHAs) and Dental Office Assistants (DOAs) applied a questionnaire-interview to the most qualified individual of the household and the data obtained per household were transformed into the individual data of 7186 persons. The results show no statistical difference between the oral health outcomes analyzed in the areas covered by OHT in the FHP and in non-covered areas that have some type of assistance program, with a number of indicators showing better conditions in the non-covered areas. When we considered the association between covered and non-covered areas under the second condition, we found a statistical difference in the coverage indicators. Better conditions were found in covered areas for indicators such as I have not been to the dentist in the last year with p < 0.001 and OR of 1.64 and I had no access to dental care with p < 0.001 and OR of 2.22. However, the results show no impact of FHP with OHT on preventive action indicators under both non-covered conditions. This can be clearly seen when we analyze the toothache variable, which showed no significant difference between covered and non-covered areas. This variable is one of the most sensitive when assessing oral health programs, with p of 0.430 under condition 1 and p of 0.038 under condition 2, with CI = 0.70-0.90. In the analysis of health indicators in children where the proportion of deaths in children under age 1, the rate of hospitalization for ARI (Acute Respiratory Infections) in those under age 5 and the proportion of individuals born underweight were considered, a better condition was found in all the outcomes for areas with FHP. Therefore, we can conclude that oral health in the FHP has little effect on oral health indicators, even though the strategy improves the general health conditions of the population, as, for example child health

Avaliação clínica da saúde bucal de crianças com neoplasias malignas atendidas no Hospital Infantil Varela Santiago em Natal-RN

The childhood cancer is characterized by a predominance of hematogenic and lymphatic system neoplasm, although a fTequency of the central nervous system tumors and sarcomas are widely common. Particularities of many childhood cancers and the adverses effect of the antineoplastic agents can change radically the oral environrnent and predisposes to the risk of oral complications. This study assessment clinically the oral health of 40 children on treatment for different types of malignant neoplasm with age range of O to 1S years old (Group I) and compared to 38 nonnal children in the same age range (Group lI). The results shown that nonnal patients had a gingival bleeding index (GBI) and caries experience minar than patients of Group lI, the visivel plaque index (VPI) was lightly higher in patients of Group 1. There was not difference statistically significant in the variables. Sixteen patients of Group I developed together 61 oral complications with predominance of mucositis, followed by spontaneous oral bleeding, candidiasis and xerostomy, that complication were most commons in patients with systemic neoplasm. Its was concluded that patients submitted to antineoplastic therapy with poor oral health had a higher risk to develop oral complications

Relação das condições socioeconômicas com as condições de saúde bucal em capitais brasileiras

Despite the improvement of Brazilian s living conditions in recent decades, this improvement occurred in a polarized way between groups of better social position. Then, there is still a health inequity´s panorama in Brazil which encompasses the oral health state. This panorama instigated the attainment of this ecological study that aimed to evaluate the relationship of socioeconomic conditions, and public health policies with oral health status in Brazilian capitals. Thus, we performed factor analysis and linear regression using oral health indicators collected from SB Brasil 2010, of socioeconomic conditions from Brazilian Census 2010 and related to water´s supply fluoridation from SISAGUA. Factor analysis with indicators of living conditions revealed two common factors, economic deprivation and socio-sanitary condition. Economic deprivation showed statistically significant positive correlation with DMFT 12 years (p= 0,03) and mean missing teeth (p = 0,002) and negative correlation with caries-free population (p=0,012). Socio-sanitary negatively correlated with DMFT (p <0,0001) and a positive correlation with caries-free population (p = 0.002). Fluoridated water had a significant association with DMFT (p <0,0001), mean missing teeth (p <0,0001) and caries free population (p <0.0001). Multiple linear regression analysis for the DMFT of capital was estimated by socio-sanitary condition and fluoridation, adjusted by economic deprivation, whereas the model for the mean missing teeth was estimated only by fluoridation and economic deprivation, and finally the model the rate for the population free of caries in Brazilian capitals was estimated by economic and socio-sanitary status adjusted fluoridated water supply. Therefore, factors related to living conditions and public policies are intrinsically linked to tooth decay issues. Thus, actions, beyond dental care assistance, must be development to impact positively in social and economic conditions, especially, between the most vulnerable populations

Impacto da cárie precoce severa na infância na qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde bucal de pré-escolares sob privação social

Early childhood caries, especially in its severe form, which is characterized by an acute and aggressive nature, can have negative impacts on thequality of life of a child, due to effects such as difficulty in chewing, decreased appetite, weight loss, insomnia, changes in behavior and a decreased performance in school, among others. Moreover, the quality of life of the child`s family can also be affected, as the pain and discomfort caused by this type of caries result in loss of working days of parents, spending on dental treatments, changes in sleep patterns and stress. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of severe early childhood caries in the Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) of public daycares`s preschool children through the Escala de Impacto da Saúde Bucal na Primeira Infância, a Brazilian version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS). A single calibrated examiner (kappa=1.0) evaluated, through the dmfs index, the oral health of 116 children aged between 3 and 5, which were included in one of three study groups: "caries-free", "not-severe early childhood caries" and "severe early childhood caries". The parents responded to ECOHIS, to assess their perception regarding the OHRQoL of their children, and a questionnaire on socioeconomic conditions. The OHRQoL was measured through the total scores and domains of ECOHIS. Descriptive analysis, Mann-Whitney test, Kruskal-Wallis test, chi-square test and Poisson multiple regression with robust variance were used. Among the children observed, 38.8% were caries-free, 27.6% showed not-severe early childhood caries and 33.6% showed severe early childhood caries. Regarding the total score of ECOHIS, severe early childhood caries had a greater negative impact on OHRQoL, compared to caries-free and not-severe early childhood caries groups (p <0.001). Regarding the child subscale, there was significant difference between the "severe early childhood caries" group and the other groups in all domains, except for theone of self-image / social interaction. In the family subscale domains, there was statistical significance between the severe early childhood caries and the caries-free groups in all domains (p <0.001), whereas between the "severe early childhood caries and not-severe early childhood caries groups there was a statistically significant difference only in the domain of parental anguish (p <0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that early childhood caries and the parent`s age were significantly associated to OHRQoL (p <0.05), independently of the other variables in the model. The presence of severe early childhood caries resulted in greater negative impact on OHRQoL (AdjPR= 6.016; 95%CI = 3.12 11.56; p<0.001), while older parents reported better OHRQoL (AdjPR = 0.603; 95%CI = 0.428 - 0.850; p = 0.004). The presence of severe early childhood caries had a negative impact on OHRQoL of preschool children and their families.

Influência das condições de saúde bucal no desempenho das atividades diárias de adolescentes escolares

Instruments are used in odontology to measure the Quality of Life Related to Oral Health (OHRQoL) to scale how the oral condition interferes with functional areas, of the people s psychological and social life. This cross-sectional study, held in Natal/RN, with 215 students from the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte (IFRN) has investigated the association between the performance of daily activities and oral health status of school adolescents from 15 to 19 years of age, through the normative index DMFT (permanent teeth decayed, missing and filled), CPI (Community Periodontal Index) and DAI (dental Aesthetic Index) and subjective questionnaire assessment of quality of life related oral health OIDP index (oral impacts on daily performance). It was also carried out the socioeconomic characteristics of students through IFRN own data. Concerning the analysis of data was performed a descriptive analysis of the variables by their absolute and relative frequencies and measures of central tendency. The chi-square test was used to assess the association between the dependent variable and the independent categorical variables and the Student t test for quantitative. It was also conducted a further multiple analysis out using Poisson regression with robust variance between the outcome "presence of impact" and the independent variables that showed p <0.20. It was used for all the statistical tests a significance level of 5%. Among the adolescents surveyed, 51.16% reported that at least one activity assessed by OIDP had hampered its implementation due to some dental problem. The difficulties were more pronounced in the activities of eating (31.6%), oral hygiene (25.6%) and smile (25.1%).The tooth position, followed by toothache, were the causes of the impacts reported by most teenagers. There was a significant association between the presence and impact of the presence of one or more decayed teeth (p = 0.012), the presence of gum bleeding (p = 0.012) and for orthodontic treatment (p = 0.003), independently of other variables. There was no significant association between oral health status and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the adolescents. The survey results showed that there is an association between oral health status of the population studied and reports of difficulties in carrying out daily activities evaluated. The worse the oral health status, the greater the impact of this condition on the adolescents quality of life

Produção e validação de um indicador de saúde bucal para idosos a partir de dados secundários do SB Brasil 2010

Dentre os vários aspectos da saúde do idoso, a saúde bucal merece atenção especial pelo fato de que, historicamente, nos serviços odontológicos, não se considera esse grupo populacional como prioridade de atenção. Por isso, se faz necessária a produção de um indicador multidimensional capaz de mensurar todas as alterações bucais encontradas em um idoso, facilitando a categorização da saúde bucal como um todo. Tal indicador representará um importante instrumento capaz de elencar prioridades de atenção voltadas à população idosa. Portanto, o estudo em questão propõe a produção e validação de um indicador de saúde bucal a partir dos dados secundários coletados pelo projeto SB Brasil 2010 referente ao grupo etário de 65 a 74 anos. A amostra foi representada pelos 7619 indivíduos do grupo etário de 65 a 74 anos que participaram da pesquisa nas 5 (cinco) regiões do Brasil. Tais indivíduos foram submetidos à avaliação epidemiológica das condições de saúde bucal, a partir dos índices CPO-d, CPI e PIP. Além disso, verificou-se o uso e necessidade de prótese, bem como características sociais, econômicas e demográficas. Uma análise fatorial identificou um número relativamente pequeno de fatores comuns, através da análise de componentes principais. Após a nomenclatura dos fatores, foi realizada a soma dos escores fatoriais por indivíduo. Por último, a dicotomização dessa soma nos forneceu o indicador de saúde bucal proposto. Para esse estudo foram incluídas na análise fatorial 12 variáveis de saúde bucal oriundas do banco de dados do SB Brasil 2010 e, também 3 variáveis socioeconômicas e demográficas. Com base no critério de Kaiser, observa-se que foram retidos cinco fatores que explicaram 70,28% da variância total das variáveis incluídas no modelo. O fator 1 (um) explica sozinho 32,02% dessa variância, o fator 2 (dois) 14,78%, enquanto que os fatores 3 (três), 4 (quatro) e 5 (cinco) explicam 8,90%, 7,89% e 6,68%, respectivamente. Por meio das cargas fatoriais, o fator um foi denominado dente hígido e pouco uso de prótese , o dois doença periodontal presente , o três necessidade de reabilitação , já o quarto e quinto fator foram denominados de cárie e condição social favorável , respectivamente. Para garantir a representatividade do indicador proposto, realizou-se uma segunda análise fatorial em uma subamostra da população de idosos investigados. Por outro lado, a aplicabilidade do indicador produzido foi testada por meio da associação do mesmo com outras variáveis do estudo. Por fim, Cabe ressaltar que, o indicador aqui produzido foi capaz de agregar diver sas informações a respeito da saúde bucal e das condições sociais desses indivíduos, traduzindo assim, diversos dados em uma informação simples, que facilita o olhar dos gestores de saúde sobre as reais necessidades de intervenções em relação à saúde bucal de determinada população

As diretrizes da política pública de saúde bucal e suas inflexões nos serviços da Clínica Odontológica da UFRN

The crisis that the Brazilian State have been crossing throughout the last decades has revealed intense oscillations in the the way of life of the population reality. In the health area, specifically of buccal health, new alternatives of attending to demands for odontological services have been increasing from the 1990 decade. The research had as objective to analyze the demand of the services of the clinic-school of odontology of the UFRN to identify the socio-economic profile of the users and the inflections of the standards of the National Politics of Buccal Health. The methodology is based on a dialectic perspective and a quali-quantitative boarding. It was used as instrument of data collection forms with open and closed questions, applied to two distinguished groups of citizens: 53 users of the services and 12 pupils of 9th and 10th term of the Odontology Course. The results reaffirm that, with the aggravation of the crisis of SUS (Sistema Único de Saúde- Single Health System) grow the difficulties of accessing the odontological services of the users majority. The subjects of the research make use of a regular socio-economic condition, with high school, own house, formal bond to labor and monthly medium income between 1 and 2 minimum wages. The conclusive analyses point to the selective and exculpatory character of the buccal health right, mainly, those users who find themselves in situation of extreme poverty and social vulnerability. Immediate and of lesser cost odontological assistance is what it s aimed, but the standards praised in the Public Politics of Buccal Health walk in another direction, requiring a bigger strongness of the formation bases and implementation of the programmatical actions since the academic field until the effectiveness of Politics of Buccal Health as a right while as a right to attention and care

A inserção do técnico em saúde bucal na estratégia saúde da família no estado do Rio Grande do Norte

An oral health technician is a profession in odontology whose own functions are defined in FEDERAL LAW NUMBER 11889, which can act for prevention, recovery and promotion of oral health. According to the web site, Of Primary Health Attention Department. Health Ministry Of Brazilian Federal Republic, you can see through historical cover, as regards Health Family Strategy that, in Rio Grande Do Norte, There are nowadays eight TSB equipments in use. Objective: The aim of this study is to find out the reasons of the inclusion of those technicians in public service, no matter the importance of this work. Method: It is about a quantitive study and a kind of exploring type, taking into account that there are not any similar previous ones. We divide it into two parts: as regards the first one, these technicians were registered in a map using the information of the Formation Schools and Class Counsel to know how and where they are. During the moment of this study, an application (or no application) of the mouth health equipments was done. They tried to discover in this process which elements contribute to the efficiency (or not) of this technical work done all together in equipment work. As regards the second part, the coordinators of Municipal Mouth Health answered to a survay that contained open and closed questions through telephone calls. The sample was defined by a raffle taking into account the work contained in municipalities. Results: There are 1053 technicians.94,3% of them are women, devided in all the health regions. As regards interview, 96,9% of oral health coordinators considered that it is very important to have an oral health technician in odontology. 92,2% would reccomend its inclusion in equipments related to mouth health, dealing to familly health . 76% have never talked before to the Health Secretary in this municipality. this spreading out could be related to financial resources and 51,6% mentioned the importance of improving the physical structure to make this spreading out possible. Conclusions: Oral Health technicians in Rio Grande Do Norte are not being adequatly used by public service, because they do not introduce themselves or act as Oral Health auxiliaries. It is important to increase concience about the importance of this category in odontology. we also say it is necesasary to invert money in a reform of the Basic Health Unities and the inclusion of these workers. On the other hand the role of the state and the public health militancy is questioned in the fulfilment of this process

Referência e contra referência em saúde bucal: regulação do acesso aos centros de especialidades odontológicas

Objective Based on the system of reference and counter-reference and comprehensiveness in oral health care, we aimed to examine ways of refering users to Specialized Dental Care Centers (SDCC) and the interface between them and Primary Care. Methods This is a cross-sectional study carried out with users and dentists of SDCC in a metropolitan region of Northeast of Brazil. Analyses were descriptive, and the association test was done with chi-square. Results Six forms of entry to specialized service were identified: free demand (13.8 %) and reference by the Primary Care dentist (63.2 %) were most frequent. Users referred by the basic health unit dentist had more interest in making a counter-reference than the others (p<0.001, PR=4.65, 95 % CI: 2.74 to 7.91), while individuals without this referral had 1.49 times more difficulty obtaining care (95 % CI: 1.02 to 2.17). Referral procedures are a decisive factor for counter-references. However, the high demand for primary care services and the short supply these services can offer in the face of needs make SDCC performance difficult. Conclusion The analysis of oral health practices from the perspective of network modeling points to the service's need to establish protocols for regulation in a bid to improve access to and the quality of care provided.

Referência e contra referência em saúde bucal: regulação do acesso aos centros de especialidades odontológicas

Objective Based on the system of reference and counter-reference and comprehensiveness in oral health care, we aimed to examine ways of refering users to Specialized Dental Care Centers (SDCC) and the interface between them and Primary Care. Methods This is a cross-sectional study carried out with users and dentists of SDCC in a metropolitan region of Northeast of Brazil. Analyses were descriptive, and the association test was done with chi-square. Results Six forms of entry to specialized service were identified: free demand (13.8 %) and reference by the Primary Care dentist (63.2 %) were most frequent. Users referred by the basic health unit dentist had more interest in making a counter-reference than the others (p<0.001, PR=4.65, 95 % CI: 2.74 to 7.91), while individuals without this referral had 1.49 times more difficulty obtaining care (95 % CI: 1.02 to 2.17). Referral procedures are a decisive factor for counter-references. However, the high demand for primary care services and the short supply these services can offer in the face of needs make SDCC performance difficult. Conclusion The analysis of oral health practices from the perspective of network modeling points to the service's need to establish protocols for regulation in a bid to improve access to and the quality of care provided.

Plano amostral, ponderação e efeitos do delineamento da Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde Bucal

OBJETIVO: Estimar la prevalencia y la extensión de la caries radicular en la población adulta y anciana de Brasil. MÉTODOS: A partir de los datos de la Investigación Nacional de Salud Bucal (SBBrasil 2010) se examinaron 9.564 adultos y 7.509 ancianos en domicilios de las 26 capitales y en el Distrito Federal y de 150 municipios del interior de cada macro región. Se implementaron criterios de diagnóstico establecidos por la Organización Mundial de la Salud. Para estudio de la prevalencia y de extensión se utilizó el índice de caries radicular y el índice de raíces cariadas y obturadas. RESULTADOS: La prevalencia de caries radicular fue de 16,7% en los adultos y 13,6% en los ancianos; el índice de raíces cariadas y obturadas fue de 0,42 y 0,32 respectivamente, siendo la mayor parte compuesta por caries no tratadas. Se observaron diferencias en la experiencia de caries radicular entre capitales y macro regiones, con valores mayores en capitales del Norte y Noreste. El índice de caries radicular en los adultos varió de 1,4% en Aracaju (SE) a 15,1% en Salvador (BA) y en los ancianos de 3,5% en Porto Velho (RO) a 29,9% en Palmas (TO). Se verificó incremento de caries radicular con la edad y mayor expresividad de la enfermedad en hombres de ambos grupos etarios. CONCLUSIONES: Se identificó una gran variación de la prevalencia y extensión de la caries radicular entre y dentro de las regiones de Brasil, tanto en adultos como en ancianos, y la mayor parte de la caries radicular se encuentra no tratada. Se recomienda la incorporación de este agravio al sistema de vigilancia en salud bucal, debido a su tendencia creciente.