Background: Studying the factors associated with the use of dental services can provide the necessary knowledge\nto understand the reasons why individuals seek out public healthcare services and the formulation of more\nappropriate public policies for the present-day reality.\nMethods: This work was a cross-sectional epidemiological study consisting of a sample of adults found in a research\ndatabank concerning the conditions of the oral health of the population of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This study\nexamined both main oral health disorders and relevant socioeconomic aspects. The dependent variable was\ndefined as the type of service used, categorized under public and private use. The independent variables were\nselected and grouped to be inserted in the analysis model according to an adaptation of the behavioral model\ndescribed by Andersen and Davidson. A hierarchical model was used to analyze the data. The description of\nvariables and bivariate analyses were performed in an attempt to verify possible associations. For each group of\nvariables at each hierarchical level, the gross and adjusted odds ratios (OR) and the respective 95% confidence\nintervals (CI) were estimated by means of logistic regression. The Complex Samples model from the SPSS statistics\nprogram, version 19.0, was used to analyze the sample framework.\nResults: In the final model, the factors associated with the use of public healthcare services by adults were directly\nrelated to the socioeconomic and demographic conditions of the individuals, including: being of a dark-skinned\nblack race/color, belonging to families with more than four household residents and with a lower income level,\nresiding in small towns, having more teeth that need treatment.\nConclusions: According to the findings from this study, socioeconomic and demographic factors, as well as\nnormative treatment needs, are associated with the use of public dental services.
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