[Assessing the supply and use of secondary care in specialized dental clinics in Bahia State, Brazil].

This study aimed to evaluate the utilization of dental services in four specialized dental clinics in Bahia State, Brazil, and to identify associated factors. This was an evaluative study in which the quantitative stage focused on a cross-sectional analysis of secondary data from the Outpatient Information System of the Unified National Health System and the qualitative component was based on 20 semi-structured interviews with coordinators and managers, in addition to on-site observation of health services. The study showed good results in the supply of these services from the health professionals' perspective, but with a low utilization rate. The low utilization rate reveals access barriers in the health services themselves, like the lack of performance standards and goals by specialty, lack of patients (who are not replaced), and different technologies used by each specialist. The results suggest the need for studies that analyze different forms of services organization that would have allowed greater utilization of the available supply, with pay differentials, linkage to primary care, and adjustment of the supply to the population's health needs.