Dental service coverage and oral health promotion community actions in primary care in Brazil between 2003 and 2019

OBJECTIVE: This study analyzes the Brazilian experience regarding the implementation of collective actions of supervised tooth brushing in schools, use of topical fluoride and coverage of dental consultations in public primary dental service based on the transformations of the political context from 2003 to 2019. METHOD: This was a retrospective study of the Brazilian case between 2003 and 2019, regarding the collective actions of supervised tooth brushing, topical fluoride strategies, access to dental consultations in public primary care services and the coverage of exclusively private dental plans, estimating the trend of indicators. RESULTS: From 2003 to 2010, the coverage of the first consultation reached 13.3%. Supervised tooth brushing and topical fluoride strategies increased 4.5% and 1.4%, respectively. The use of fluoride mouthwash remained stable. From 2011 to 2019, most of public dental services indicators decreased. Private dental insurance plans increased in both periods. CONCLUSION: The Brazilian case disclosed an expansion of the public dental sector. In political situations of greater austerity and economic crisis, there is an upsurge and also setbacks in the coverage of public dental consultations and collective actions aimed at oral health promotion in the public sector; however, an expansion was observed in the private sector.