Oral Health Policy in Brazil: transformations and setbacks from 2019 to 2022.

Abstract

This study presents the systematic assessment of oral health policy in Brazil at the federal level during the Bolsonaro administration (2019-2022). The analysis involves document review and secondary data analysis, tracking institutional actions, implementation of public dental services, oral health indicator outcomes, and federal public financing in comparison to 2018. The Bolsonaro government was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and by the end of it, 29,122 OHTs had been implemented, with population coverage of 46.8% and an increase of 3.8% compared to the previous government. The number of specialized centers increased by 4.1%. Dental consultation coverage was 5.6% and the collective action of supervised tooth brushing was 0.14%, both with the lowest results in the historical series. Specialized dental actions showed a 12.4% and 16,0% reduction in endodontic and periodontal treatment. Only dental prostheses showed an increase (29.4%). The pandemic has influenced the results of the oral health policy, with a reduction in coverage of the first dental appointment and in the collective action of supervised tooth brushing and specialized procedures.