Abstract
Introduction
The use of health goods and services is considered a positive expression of access, influenced by several factors.
Objective
Analyze access to oral health services and goods, and determining factors, among schoolchildren aged 7-10 years.
Material and method
Cross-sectional study carried out with students from a probabilistic cluster sample. Data were collected through a form applied to children and a questionnaire sent to parents/guardians. The outcome of interest was access to dental health goods and services, based on the variables “first dental appointment” and “own a toothbrush”. Independent variables (child, maternal and socioeconomic characteristics) that presented statistical significance ≤0.10 in the bivariate analysis were included in the Multivariate Logistic Regression model. The significance level adopted in the final model was 5%.
Result
They associated with having a toothbrush: ages of 8 (OR=3.303; 95%CI= 1.135 - 9.610), 9 (OR=3.452; 95%CI = 1.176 - 10.137) and 10 years (OR= 6.901; 95%CI = 1.468 - 32.434); maternal smoking (OR=4.509; 95%CI = 2.021-10.060). Associated with the first dental appointment: ages 9 (OR=2.321; 95%CI = 1.340 – 4.022) and 10 years (OR= 3.155; 95%CI = 1.687 – 5.899); private school (OR=3.691; 95%CI = 1.343-10.145); two or more bedrooms in the residence (OR: 3.691; 95%CI = 1.343 – 10.145) and own a toothbrush (OR=2.065; 95%CI = 1.009 – 4.226).
Conclusion
The results point to inequality in access to dental health. Older children, with uneducated mothers and better socioeconomic conditions have greater access to services and goods in oral health.
Descriptors:
Health services accessibility; dental health services; oral health; child