TY - JOUR AU - Alencar, Moângela Alves de Sousa AU - Protasio, Ane Polline Lacerda AU - Macambira, Ana Flávia Uzêda dos Santos AU - Valença, Ana Maria Gondim PY - 2021/11/17 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Access to Primary Dental Care and the Work Process of Oral Health Teams: An Analysis of the 3rd Phase of the PMAQ-AB Program JF - Pesquisa Brasileira em Odontopediatria e Clínica Integrada JA - Pesqui Bras Odontopediatria Clin Integr VL - 21 IS - SE - DO - UR - https://revista.uepb.edu.br/PBOCI/article/view/773 SP - e0261 AB - <p><strong>Objective: </strong>To characterize the access to primary dental care and the work process of Oral Health Teams (OHTs), nationwide and by geographic region, based on data from the 3rd phase of the <em>PMAQ-AB</em> (the Program for Improving Access and Quality of Primary Care). <strong>Material and Methods:</strong> This was a cross-sectional study using data from the external assessments of the PMAQ-AB regarding the variables access to dental care and the work process of OHTs. The data were analyzed descriptively. <strong>Results:</strong> A significant number of healthcare users (41.2%) reported an average waiting time of 10 days to schedule dental appointments at the primary care facility (PCF). In the Northeast region, a greater number of users (48.4%) had access to dental care, with a waiting time of 7 days, whereas a smaller number of users in the Southeast region could schedule an appointment with the dentist (33.9%) and experienced a longer waiting time (17 days). Most OHTs worked in Primary Care Teams (PCTs) (85.1%), received support from Specialized Dental Care Centers (70.9%), worked with scheduled appointments and/or spontaneous demands (98.0%), listened to the users’ complaints during user embracement sessions (99.0%), and scheduled the first appointment at the dental office (51.9%). <strong>Conclusion:</strong> In Brazil, 41.2% of the healthcare users had access to dental care and experienced a waiting time ranging from 7 to 17 days, depending on the geographic region. While the OHTs developed primary oral care actions, further initiatives to ensure the expansion of access to dental care are needed.</p> ER -