Oral health access in Brazil: analysis of inequities and non-access from the user's perspective, according to National Primary Care Access and Quality Improvement Program, 2014 and 2018

Abstract

Objective: To investigate factors associated with non-access to oral health in Brazil. Methods: Cross-sectional study that analyzed data from the external evaluation of the National Program to Improve Access and Quality (2014 and 2018), using hierarchical multivariate logistic regression. Non-access category was defined as the situation in which user was unable to make an appointment with a dentist. Results: We analyzed data from 37.262 individuals (2014 sample) and 117.570 people (2018 sample). A greater chance of non-access was found for those who: live in more unequal municipalities and with less oral health coverage, whose travel time to the unit is more than 11 minutes; female, aged between 25 and 39 years and whose income was up to 1 minimum wage. Conclusion: Non-access was associated with municipal factors such as grater inequality; organizational factors such as less coverage and travel time to the unit; and individual factors such as sex, age and income.