Resumo

CAMPOS, Ana Cristina Viana et al. Public service dental actions in a small town. RGO, Rev. gaúch. odontol. (Online) [online]. 2012, vol.60, n.1, pp. 27-32. ISSN 1981-8637.

Objective To describe the actions of the public dental service in a small town in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Methods An historical series study using secondary data obtained from the Outpatient Information System of the National Health Service in Brazil. The study sample consisted of all dental procedures and actions (n= 97.331) and basic medical actions (n= 126.340) performed between 2000 and 2007, as obtained from the Ministry of Health's official website. Results The percentage of basic dental actions (44%) was lower than the percentage of actions in the medical area (56%). Direct restorations, ignoring the number of tooth surfaces involved, were the most performed dental procedure (40%). The extractions of deciduous and permanent teeth (including root fragments) ranked second (35%), followed by preventive procedures such as scaling, curettage and crown polishing (11%), plaque control (8%), dental sealing (3%) and direct capping and pulpotomy (3%). Conclusion Given the data presented, it was possible to suggest that the dental service in this municipality was predominantly curative /restorative, to the exclusion of collective actions, that are not seemingly carried out and/or not recorded.

Palavras-chave : Dentistry; Health service accessibility; National Health Service; Oral health.