Factors associated with lack of access to dental services among Brazilian adults
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/s1518-8787.2026060007431Keywords:
Effective Access to Health Services, Equity in Access to Health Services, Oral Health Services, Oral Health Surveys, Socioeconomic Factors, Multilevel AnalysisAbstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between individual and contextual variables and lack of access to dental services among the Brazilian adult population. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study based on a nationally representative sample of adults aged 35 to 44 years from SB Brasil 2023. Multiple analyses were performed using multilevel logistic regression. The outcome was lack of access to dental services. Individual exposures included demographic data, income, educational attainment, and type of service sought; contextual variables included population size, socioeconomic development, and availability of public dental services in Brazilian cities. RESULTS: It was found that 17.5% of Brazilian adults did not receive dental care when they sought it. Low educational attainment, low family income, and seeking public services increased the likelihood of lack of access. The contextual variables did not explain the outcome, in addition to the individual-level factors. CONCLUSION: Lack of access to dental services among adults in Brazil was associated with low socioeconomic status and with those who sought public services, considering contextual variables related to the municipalities included in the study. The absence of an association between the contextual variables analyzed and lack of access may reflect the widespread availability of dental services, an extremely positive aspect of the Brazilian health system. Nevertheless, despite advances in expanding coverage and the establishment of the Política Nacional de Saúde Bucal (National Oral Health Policy) as a state policy, socioeconomic inequalities persist that limit the principle of equitable access.
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