Atendimentos odontológicos nos serviços de atenção primária ao final do segundo ano da pandemia de COVID-19 no Brasil

Abstract

With the emergence of the new coronavirus and the COVID-19 pandemic, several activities needed to be rethought, including dental practice. The objective of the present study was to measure the number of dental appointments provided in Basic Health Units (BHU) in Brazil at the end of the second year of the pandemic and its associated factors. This is a follow-up study carried out between November and December 2021, when more than 60% of the Brazilian population was vaccinated for the disease. The base study was carried out between July and August 2020 and, at follow-up, we sought to evaluate the same respondents from the first stage of the research. This is a longitudinal study carried out through the analysis of cross-sectional data from the application of a questionnaire to dentists working at BHU of the Public Health System (SUS). The outcome variable of the study was the number of patients seen per turn at the BHU before the pandemic, compared to the time when the study was carried out. Exposure variables were sociodemographic; related to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) provided to professionals; pre-service telescreening; and, finally, the feeling of dentists in relation to dental care. Data were analyzed using Stata® 12.0 statistical package. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyzes were performed using Poisson regression, calculating Mean Ratios (MR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (95%CI). A total of 416 dentists were evaluated. With regard to dental appointments, there was an average reduction of 22% in the number of appointments compared to the moment before the pandemic. Being between 16 and 20 years old (RM 0.78; 95%CI 0.64-0.95) and 21 years or more since graduation (RM 0.75; 95%CI 0.62-0.91), in addition to not having attended specialization course after graduation (RM 0.80; CI95% 0.70-0.92) were associated with a decrease in the number of dental appointments. These findings serve as a warning for health managers to offer and encourage continuing education actions for professionals, so that they are better prepared to continue providing care in times of health emergencies, such as a pandemic.