OBJECTIVE: To test associations between primary dental care indicators and municipal socioeconomic and dental service provision indicators. METHODS: An ecological study was carried out in the 293 municipalities of the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil, between 2000 and 2003. The primary dental care indicators utilized were: (1) coverage; (2) the ratio between preventive dental procedures and the size of the population aged zero to 14 years; and (3) the ratio between the numbers of extractions of permanent teeth and individual […]

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relevance of subjective criteria adopted by a psychiatry and psychology consultation-liaison service, and their suitability in the evaluation of case registries and objective results. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted and all supervisors of the university hospital service were interviewed. Routinely collected case registries were also reviewed. Standardized assessment with content analysis for each category was carried out. RESULTS: The results showed distortions in the adopted service focus (doctor-patient relationship) and consultant requests. This focus is more […]

OBJECTIVE: Since one of the goals of dental services is to reduce the effects of social inequality on dental health, it was assessed whether there are inequalities among those seeking dental care from private, public and unionized services. METHODS: The study population consisted of adults aged 18 years or more living in the city of Bambuí, Brazil. Participants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using Pearson’s chi-square test, odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals (Woolf’s […]