Characterization of dental radiographic service in the state of Paraíba: highlighting inequalities and sub-records - doi: 10.4025/actascihealthsci.v35i1.10403

Abstract

To characterize the dental radiology service in Paraíba State. From Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System, data collected were: total population, population covered by Primary Care (PC), number and distribution of dental X-ray equipment (DXRE), and dental radiographs production. The cities which had the equipment were grouped and compared according to Paraíba’s regions. We calculated for each city: ratio between total population and amount of equipment; ratio between population covered by PC and quantity of public equipment; biannual and the monthly averages of radiographs production. Of the 223 cities, 21.1% are equipped with DXRE, which 356 are in use, 77.2% are private, and 66.9% concentrate in Zona da Mata region. The average of person per each DXRE is 16,609, while the average of people enrolled in PC for each public DXRE is 20,922. The biannual and the monthly production of radiographs are, respectively, 1,272 and 212. We found that 36.2% of the cities reported no X-rays production during the last half of 2008. The service is concentrated in a few cities, being mostly private, with a high rate of people per equipment and inequitable distribution. Probably, there is a production underreporting.