Impact of oral health teams of the Family Health Strategy on the oral health of adolescents in the south of Brazil]

The Family Health Strategy (FHS) has produced effective results in health indicators. In this cross-sectional study, the impact of the oral health teams (OHT) of the Family Health Strategy was evaluated on the oral health of 2581 adolescent schoolchildren aged 12 and 15-19 years in 36 municipalities (19 with and 17 without OHT/FHS). Four dentists performed oral examinations. Socioeconomic status, the use of and access to health services were assessed via a structured questionnaire. The presence of the OHT in the FHS were the main independent variables. Outcomes were Decayed, Missing, Filled Teeth (DMFT) and its components, toothache, gingival bleeding, and dental calculus. The data were analyzed by means of negative binomial and Poisson regression. Multilevel analysis was conducted to adjust the outcomes to OHT/FHS and individual variables. In the unadjusted model there was no association between the OHT in the FHS and the outcomes analyzed. After adjustment, young people in areas not covered by the OHT/FHS had almost half of the tooth loss of adolescents from the areas covered (RM = 0.64 CI 95%, 0.43 to 0.94).