Objective:

To analyze the access and use of dental services among 6-to-12-year-old childrenin Brazil.

Material and Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted based on micro-data from the National Household Sample Survey carried out by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics in 2008. A total of 48,854 children were included and confidence intervals of 99% (CI 99%) were considered for the prevalence rates of the outcomes. The statistical significance of differences was analyzed using these intervals, level of 1%.

Results:

A total of 79.3% (CI 99%: 79.3%-79.3%) of children had been to the dentist at least once in their lives. A total of 62.1% (99% CI: 62.1%-62.1%) of children from families earning up to one quarter the monthly per capita household income and 95.5% (99% CI: 95.4-95.5) of those from families earning two or more times the minimum wage were among the 25,161 children that had been to the dentist in the previous year. Regarding region of residence, 68.2% (CI 99%: 68.2%-68.2%) of children from the northeastern region of the country and 89.5% (CI 99%: 89.5%-89.6%) of those from the southern region had been to the dentist.

Conclusion:

A considerable number of Brazilian children had never been to the dentist by the year 2008. In addition, individuals living in the southern region and from families with greater monthly household income were among those who had already been to the dentist. These data provide evidence for guiding public policies and actions aimed at minimizing the lack of dental follow up among Brazilian children