Utilização de serviços odontológicos no último ano e fatores associados na população adulta urbana de Pelotas

Abstract

Access to and use of dental services has increased in recent years in the country, but it is still possible to observe inequalities in some groups present in our society. This dissertation consists of the research project, field reports and an original article. The research project addresses the research consortium carried out between 2019/2020 in the Graduate Program in Epidemiology at the Federal University of Pelotas, which was canceled in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This population-based cross-sectional study aimed to describe the prevalence of use of dental services in the last year and its associated factors in the adult population of the urban area of Pelotas / RS, with adults aged 18 years and over. 827 people were interviewed and the prevalence of using dental services in the last year among adults in the urban area of Pelotas / RS was 47.01%. The use was more associated with younger individuals, of higher economic class and higher education, who had toothache in the last six months and who reported better self-perception of oral health when compared to individuals in the other groups. Due to the cancellation of the consortium and the initial project, the theme remained the same, however, the original article was elaborated with data from the follow-up at 31 years of the 1982 live birth cohort in the city of Pelotas-RS. This is a cross-sectional study with the objective of describing the use of dental services in the last year and the associated factors. The prevalence of use of dental services in the last year was 55.3%. Individuals who visited for prevention, who used the private service, who were satisfied with their oral health and who had more experience of caries were more likely to use dental services in the last year. Studying the factors associated with the use of dental services is a way of contributing to identify the groups that have more needs and less use, helping to reinforce existing policies with new targeted actions.