GUIMARAES, Maria Aparecida Martins Baêta; OLIVEIRA, Valesca Krepker de; OLIVEIRA, Arlete Maria Gomes    FLORIO, Flávia Martão. Association among actions from oral health services, the Human Development Index, the presence of fluoridated water, and dental caries in five-year-old children. Arq. Odontol. []. 2011, 47, 3, pp. 135-145. ISSN 1516-0939.

Aim: Investigate the associations among actions from oral health services, carried out by the Primary Health Care Service (SUS) and assessed by the Basic Health Care Pact Indicators; human development, fluoridated water, and the experience of dental caries in 5-year-old children in the cities of the Regional Health Care Management of the city of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil (GRSJF). Materials and Methods: The sample included 27 municipalities within GRS-JF. The present study employed the DMFT index when the child reached 5 years of age; oral healthcare and Family Healthcare Program (FHP) coverage indicators, from 1998 to 2002; the Municipal Human Development Index (MHDI) from 2000; as well as information regarding the presence of fluoridated water in these municipalities. To assess the association among the study variables, both simple and multiple linear regression analyses were applied. Results: It could be observed that the actions from oral healthcare services were not significantly associated with the dental caries experience. The FHP coverage proved to be positively associated with the prevalence of the disease; whereas the MHDI proved to be both negatively and significantly associated with the dmft at 5 years of age. Moreover, the presence of fluoridated water proved not to be associated with the dental caries experience. Conclusion: The human development policies contributed to an improvement in the dental caries indicators at 5 years of age and illustrated that fluoridated water and the oral healthcare services had no significant impact. Therefore, it is suggested that changes be made in the rendering of oral healthcare services in an attempt not only to reduce the biological indicators of diseases, but also to improve the quality of life.

: Dental caries; Health services; Socioeconomic factors; Fluoridation.