Collective oral health care at Xukuru do Ororubá Indigenous Territory (Pesqueira, Brazil) in 2018

Abstract

Background Primary oral health care services are responsible for performing collective actions, in order to prevent diseases and promote health through education. Brazilian indigenous populations, especially from the Northeast Region, suffer from insufficient access to oral health services. From this perspective, this study aims to verify the performance of oral health collective actions indicators in the territory of the Xukuru do Ororubá indigenous ethnic group (Pesqueira, Brazil) in 2018. Methods An observational and ecological study. Secondary data for 2018 were extracted from the Indigenous Health Care Information System, part of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). Performance of collective oral procedures conducted by the oral health teams in the Xukuru territory was analyzed through indicators applied for the evaluation of oral health actions and services related to primary care. Results There was an average monthly coverage of the collective supervised toothbrushing (CST) of 47.8% for the entire Xukuru territory. The average monthly coverage of the collective topical fluoride application (CTFA) was 2.8%. There was an annual average of 6.2 collective dental procedures (CDP) per capita. Conclusions Less than half of the population participated in CST actions. CTFA proved to be almost nonexistent, with poor coverage for the general territory population. The annual average of CDP was satisfactory which may, in general terms, demonstrate greater concern with preventive measures. However, it appears that such average gains strength due to the volume of health education actions, which is part of the indicator sum. Analyzing the low coverage of CST and CTFA in isolation, a reality of low access to fluoride in this indigenous population can be seen. Results points to the need for greater provision of collective actions in the indigenous territory studied, aiming at strengthening the prevention of diseases and/or aggravations of oral health, in all life cycles. Key messages Measurement of the performance of oral health teams regarding the collective oral health actions in the territory of the Xukuru do Ororubá ethnic group. Analysis of the indigenous oral health stored data quality, aiming to offer support for system management decision making and to the services organization improvement.