Access to oral health in primary care before and after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil

Abstract

This study compared the access to oral health in primary care, before and after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. An observational study with a cross-sectional ecological design was carried out, using data from the Health Information System for Primary Care (SISAB). Data regarding the number of Oral Health Teams (OHT), Oral Health Coverage in Primary Care (OHC), number of First Programmatic Dental Consultations (FPDC), and number of visits due to dental abscess and toothache were collected. Data were collected by state as consolidated of the first quarter (January to April) of 2019 and of 2020. The median of the difference (MD) and the percentage of variation (%V) were obtained for each variable. Data were compared by Wilcoxon test (α<0,05). An increase in the number of OHT was observed in 25 states (MD=45, %V=6.13%, p<0.001), whilst the OHC increased in 17 states (MD=1.01, %V=1.62%, p=0.035) between the 2019 and 2020. We also verified a significant reduction in the number of FPDC (MD=- 42,806, %V=-38.70%, p<0.001), as well as in the number of visits due to dental abscess (MD=-1,032, % V=-29.04%, p=0.002) and due to toothache (MD=-14,445, %V=-32.68%, p<0.001). Although an expansion of OHT and OHC between 2019 and 2020 was verified, access to oral health in primary care has decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic.