Primary care dentistry in Brazil : from prevention to comprehensive care

Abstract

This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the association between sociodemographic characteristics, health care indicators, work process characteristics, and the performance of preventive dental procedures by oral health care teams (OHCTs) assessed during the first phase of the PMAQ in Brazil. A census of 10 334 primary OHCTs was conducted. The outcome included topical application of fluoride, application of sealants, detection of oral lesions, and monitoring of suspected or confirmed cases of oral cancer. The multilevel Poisson regression model was used to obtain crude and adjusted prevalence ratios. The performance of preventive dental procedures was 29.46% (3044/10 334; 95% confidence interval, 28.57-30.33), which was considered low.