Compliance Analysis of the Dental Care Service Provided to Pregnant Women in Primary Health Care

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze oral health services for pregnant women in the primary health care of a Brazilian metropolis, based on the performance of dentists who integrate these services. Material and Methods: Exploratory, descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted through qualitative and quantitative approaches. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. This study was conducted in a Brazilian metropolis and included all dentists working in primary health care. The compliance analysis was performed considering access, adherence, group activity and individual dental care dimensions. Open questions were analyzed using the content analysis method and the closed questions were performed using frequency estimates. Bivariate statistics (Chi-square, Fisher's Exact Test, α<0.05) were analyzed through STATA. Results: 260 dentists agreed to participate in this study. Strategies to facilitate the scheduling of pregnant women to dental treatment occur in 93.9% of oral health teams, the main one being the scheduling and/or referral performed by the family health team. In terms of access and adherence to treatment, all variables in these dimensions showed relevant compliance results. The group activity dimension presented moderate compliance percentages, whereas individual care obtained high results, except for referral to radiography. Conclusion: The oral health service was compliant regarding access and adherence to treatment, but showed limitations in individual care and collective activities. Recommendations include improving oral health team coverage and permanent education programs.

Pré-natal odontológico: assistência às gestantes na rede pública de atenção básica em saúde / Prenatal dental care: dental care for pregnant woman in the public primary healthcare network

Objetivo: avaliar como se dá a assistência odontológica a pacientes gestantes na rede pública de atenção básica em saúde, através das práticas descritas pelos cirurgiões-dentistas que compõe essa rede.Métodos: trata-se de um estudo transversal, em que os dados foram coletados por meio de questionário estruturado, entre maio e julho/2017 com cirurgiões-dentistas da rede pública de atenção básica em saúde do município de Belo Horizonte (MG). A análise foi por meio de cálculo de prevalência, utilizando o pacote estatístico STATA.Resultados: participaram deste estudo 260 cirurgiões-dentistas. Dentre eles, 98,5% atendiam gestantes, com média mensal de 1 a 4 atendimentos, havendo adesão ao tratamento em 54,5% dos casos. O acesso se deu, majoritariamente, através de encaminhamentos do médico e enfermeiro, ou livre demanda. Quase todos os dentistas (94,9%) sentem-se seguros para o atendimento da gestante. As principais dificuldades referiram-se à encaminhamento para tomadas radiográficas e falta de informação dos profissionais envolvidos no pré-natal e das gestantes sobre o atendimento odontológico.Conclusão: As gestantes estão recebendo assistência odontológica na rede pública de atenção básica e os cirurgiões-dentistas neste estudo não apresentaram receio em atende-as. O acesso facilitado aos serviços odontológicos disponíveis nos Centros de Saúde está sendo executada; pelas informações prestadas pelos cirurgiões-dentistas pôde-se ver que o encaminhamento das gestantes feito pelos profissionais de saúde envolvidos no pré-natal, seja ele médico, enfermeiro, Agente Comunitário de Saúde, está sendo realizado.

Aim: To evaluate the prenatal dental care provided for pregnant women in the public primary healthcare network, based on the perception of dentists who work in this service.Methods: This study was cross-sectional with a quantitative approach. The data were collected through a structured questionnaire between May and July 2017 with dentists who provide dental care in the public primary healthcare network in Belo Horizonte (MG). Data were analyzed using prevalence estimates calculated using the STATA statistics package. Results: Two hundred sixty dental surgeons participated in this study. Among them, 98.5% provided dental care for pregnant women in their healthcare center, with a monthly average of 1 to 4 visits and with treatment adherence in 54.5% of the cases. The access was mainly through referral given by the doctor or nurse or by free application. Almost all of the dentists (94.9%) considered themselves prepared to provide dental care to pregnant women. The main difficulties were related to the use of radiography and the lack of information of healthcare professionals involved in providing prenatal dental care and dental care for pregnant women during this period. Conclusion: The pregnant women are receiving dental care in the public primary healthcare network, and the dentists in this study were not afraid to attend to them. The facilitated access to the dental care services available at the Health Centers is being carried out; through the information provided by the dentists, it was possible to see that the referral of the pregnant women by the healthcare professionals involved in prenatal dental care, whether they are a doctor, a nurse, or a Community Healthcare Agent, is being carried out.