[Inequalities in oral health services in Cali, Colombia].

OBJECTIVE

Assessing the presence of inequity in access to dental care in a health network in the city of Cali in Colombia.

METHODS

This was a descriptive, retrospective study. The study area was located in the area of influence of Cali's largest health-service provider's network (accounting for 70 % of the city's geographical extension). The study population dealt with the poor and vulnerable, consisting of both the insured and uninsured population. A survival rate analysis was carried for determining the likelihood of each population finishing treatment or abandoning it during treatment.

RESULTS

The subsidised population had an 11.12 Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index while that of the subsidised population was 9.41. In the area of dental operation, 63.7 % treatments were completed in the subsidised population and 33.3 % in the unsubsidised population; 63.3 % of the population in area of oral surgery were subsidised and 36.6 % were people without subsidy. It was noted that the likelihood of the subsidised population completing the first 30 days treatment was 85.5 % (0.8-0.9, 80 % CI) and 78 % (0.4-0.8, 80 % CI) for the population lacking insurance.

CONCLUSIONS

Inequities were found in both populations' oral health status. Inequity were also shown in oral health care, in the percentage of patients being likely to finish treatment or being likely to abandon it, this being higher in the subsidised population (emphasis being placed on the first month of attention).