Tasa de Consultas por Urgencias Odontológicas Ambulatorias en Beneficiarios del Sistema Público de Salud, Araucanía Sur, Año 2021

Abstract

Objective: To determine the rate of emergency dental consultations under the GES (Explicit Health Guarantees) program in the beneficiary population of the public healthcare system in the Araucanía region, year 2021. Method: Observational, ecological-type descriptive study, where the unit of analysis is the population seeking emergency dental care. The source of information to be used corresponds to the Monthly Statistical Summaries (REM), which are a public record of health statistics published by the Department of Statistics and Information in Health (DEIS) of the Ministry of Health of Chile. The record includes activities carried out in the public healthcare facilities of the Araucanía region and is divided into sections. REM A-09 records activities in the field of dentistry, both at the primary care level and in specialties. Section A identifies the type of consultation or check-up conducted on the patient in Primary Health Care (APS) and is disaggregated into morbidity consultation, dental check-up, emergency consultation (GES), and missed appointments. It is worth noting that each consultation is recorded only once, and the classification criterion is based on the patient's reason for consultation. Results: A total of 205,173 dental consultations were recorded in the public healthcare network in the Araucanía region, with 15,393 of these being emergency dental consultations (UOA). It was observed that the rate of UOA consultations is higher in women, among individuals aged 20 to 64, and in rural communities. Conclusions: A lower rate of UOA consultations in the public healthcare network of Araucanía is observed among individuals under 20 and over 60 years of age, as well as in urban communities. This could reflect the population's increased access to resolving oral health issues at the primary care level, as well as the implementation of various oral health programs targeting these groups. In contrast, individuals aged 20 to 59 and those in rural areas exhibit a higher rate of UOA consultations due to the absence of programs specifically designed for this age group and limited access to public healthcare services.