Fatores associados ao não uso de serviços odontológicos por jovens universitários

Abstract

The non-use of dental services can be a risk factor for oral health. The literature has pointed to the existence of marked inequities in the use of dental services in Brazil. These inequities can be related to an interaction between several factors that have the potential to modify the opportunity of each individual´s use. In addition to studying the use of oral health services, the literature has pointed to the importance of evaluating the regularity with which individuals attend the dental service, identifying those who use it only in cases of pain or curative treatment necessity. There is a scarcity of studies in the literature on the patterns of use of oral health services by the young university population. In view of the above, this study aimed to evaluate the non-use of dental services by young university students at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora and the associated factors. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 477 university students between 18 and 24 years old, in the form of a web survey, in which predisposing, enabling and need variables were collected, according to the explanatory model of the use of health services proposed by Andersen, to test the associated factors to the recent and regular non-use of dental services. Data were processed using SPSS version 20.0 software. The association of dependent and independent variables was investigated by means of bivariate analyzes and Robust Poisson Regression with estimation of crude and adjusted prevalence ratios using 95% confidence intervals. The associated independent variables with a value of p≤0.05 entered the multiple model, while the variables with a value of p<0.05 remained in the final model. The prevalence of recent non-use was 19.5% (95%CI 16.0%–23.3%) and of regular nonuse was 53.5% (95%CI 48.9%–58.0%). After the adjusted analysis, the following remained associated with a lower prevalence of recent non-use: use of public services (PR = 0.91; 95%CI 0.85-0.98) and perceived need for dental treatment (PR = 0.98; 95%CI 0.97-0.99); and to the lower prevalence of non-regular use: lower paternal schooling (PR = 0.86; 95%CI 0.78-0.96), students in non-health courses (PR = 0.92; 95%CI 0.87-0.98), motivated use of services by symptoms (PR = 0.81; 95%CI 0.75- 0.88), non-use of dental services in childhood (PR = 0.92; 95%CI 0.86-0.97), negative self-perception of oral health (PR = 0.86; 95%CI 0.76-0.88) and report of toothache in the last 2 years (PR = 0.93; 95%CI 0.87-0.99). The results point to the need to implement public policies for prevention and health promotion in higher education institutions and for the expansion of access to dental services by the young population, in order to guarantee improvements in the quality of life of this population.