Use of public oral health services by the adult population: a multilevel analysis

Background It is important to assess context to explain inequalities in oral health, particularly with regard to the type of service used; thus, this study aimed to identify the social determinants of public dental service use by adults and to assess whether, beyond the level individual, existing inequalities are also expressed in the context in which individuals are embedded. Methods A multilevel analysis with three levels of aggregation of variables was performed. The individual variables were derived from the database of the SB Minas Gerais project—a survey of oral health status of the population of Minas Gerais, a state of the Brazilian Southeast region. The variable at the neighborhood level came from the Census of 2010. The variables at the municipal level were obtained from available public databases relating to oral health services. At the municipal level, the Human Development Index (HDI) variable was chosen to represent quality of life in the municipalities. Results In the final model, the following individual variables were associated with greater use of public dental services: lower income (PR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.53; 2.58), higher number of residents at home (PR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.11; 1.68) and higher number of teeth requiring treatment (PR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.20; 1.84). With regard to context variables, a poorer infrastructure (PR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.40; 0.96) leads to a lower use of public services. Conclusion The use of public services is associated with family income, how this income is divided in households, the need for treatment presented by the individual and the organization of the existing oral health service infrastructure in the municipality.

Impacto da estratégia saúde da família com equipe de saúde bucal sobre indicadores de saúde bucal: análise em municípios do nordeste com mais de 100 mil habitantes

This study examined in municipalities of Northeast of Brazil with more than one hundred thousand people who incorporation of Oral Health Teams (OHT) into the Family Health Strategy (FHE) the possible impact on oral health indicators. Sought to answer whether implementation OHT brought the best indicators of health problems and coverage, compared to areas without coverage by the FHE through a community trial in parallel, quasi-randomized. In each of the municipalities surveyed were 20 census tracts, 10 were located in areas covered by oral health teams in the ESF and 10 industries in areas not covered. The final sample consisted of 59.221 individuals. We compared oral health indicators related to health problems, access to services and coverage of oral health actions. The analysis strategy was based on the calculation of prevalence ratios and confidence intervals, adjusted for confounding factors through Poisson regression with robust variance. It also has measured the association between an indicator of social inequality for comparison between areas. The best results are associated with indicators of access and coverage of oral health actions at the expense of the indicators of health problems, suggesting a possible maintenance of a traditional model of practice yet. The results also suggest a possible effect of a specific policy in the area of primary care on inequality in access. From the discussions presented throughout this work, we can see that the impact analysis of public policy, obtained by comparing areas with and without the intervention, not only captures the effect on the target population, but other dimensions of organization service and therefore should be understood as one of the analytical possibilities related to the management

Centros de especialidades odontológicas: avaliação da atenção de média complexidade na rede pública da Grande Natal

The Specialized Dental Care Centers (CEO) were developed to provide specialized dental care to the population, given the accumulated needs of health since the past. They must operate as units of reference for the Oral Health Team of the Primary Care, complementing the dental procedures performed at this level of attention. This study aims to assess the performance of CEOs of the Grande Natal Health Region as a strategy of Secondary Care consolidation in oral health through users, dentists and managers. For this to try to identify factors about access, hosting and satisfaction with the service, the actions developed in these centers, integration between the CEOs and the Basic Health Units (UBS), considering the reference and counter reference. Data were collected through semi-structured interview, conducted in four CEOs, among 253 users, 31 dentists and 4 managers. It was submitted to descriptive statistical analysis and to content analysis by software ALCESTE 4.5. The results revealed that the specialties of prosthesis, endodontics and surgery were the most sought by 38.2%, 23.7% and 21.7% of respondents, respectively. It was noticed that among users aged 18 to 30 years-old the greatest demand is for the specialty of endodontics (44.4%) and over 50 years for prosthesis (76.4%). There is a weakness in the reference and counter reference between UBS and CEO, because part of users goes directly to the centers without going before to the Primary Care and the majority does not want to return to the dentist of Health Unit. Satisfaction with care was reported by 90.9% of users, because they resolved the problems needed and were welcomed by the team. But the delay in care was the main factor for not satisfaction. For most dentists, some users could solve their problems completely in Primary Care, which shows the existence of unnecessary referrals to the CEOs, however they consider the existence of limiting factors in UBS that compromise the service. Most dentists revealed that some users do not get to CEOs with the basic dental treatment done, and some of them do not counter reference users. It can be concluded that the studied CEOs are being resolutive for those who access them, offering necessary care for the population, and if they don t account with this service, will encounter obstacles to resolution of problems, ranging seek care service in particular, in another public sector, or even giving up treatment. However, it is perceived the need of professionals training to understand the importance of the reference and counter reference, to that they can better serve and guide users. It is also important that cities offer better conditions to UBS and CEOs, so they can work together, with complementary actions of oral health, seeking full care, aiming for better resolution to the users' health problems

Avaliacão da satisfação do usuário e da qualidade dos tratamentos endodônticos em Centros de Especialidades Odontológicas da Grande Natal-RN

Objective: To evaluate the degree of users satisfaction and technical quality of endodontic treatment in specialized dental clinics (CEO) of Grande Natal / RN between 2006 and 2008. Methodology: evaluated 282 endodontically treated teeth in CEOs through clinical and radiographic examinations. A questionnaire about the clinical condition of the tooth, evaluation of care and satisfaction with treatment was applied. Data on pre-and trans-operative were noted by the patient's clinical record. Endodontically treated teeth were examined by a specialist in endodontics, which compared with previous radiographs and current ones. The collected datas were presented descriptively by absolute numbers, percentages, averages. To determine the association between the independent and dependent variables was carried out through the bivariate association test Chi-square and Fisher exact test. Results: 79.8% presented with radiographic normal and 84.4% without pain symptoms. 8.2% of the teeth were fractured and 3.2% extracted. The persistence of the periapical lesion was associated with initial periapical status (p <0.05). 91.5% of patients are satisfied with the outcome of treatment. Such satisfaction is associated with absence of pain and an adequate esthetic tooth position (p <0.05). Conclusion: endodontic treatment in specialized dental clinics have an adequate technical quality, resulting in the success of endodontic therapy performed in these centers and that users are satisfied with the treatment

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.