Access and use of dental services by pregnant women: An integrative literature review

Abstract

The objective of this article is to identify the scientific productions on the access and use of dental services by pregnant women. A search was carried out on the BVS and MEDLINE/PubMed online databases to produce this integrative literature review. In the BVS database, the Portuguese descriptors were: “acesso aos serviços de saúde”, “saúde bucal” and “gestantes”, and in PubMed: “Health services accessibility”, “oral health” and “pregnant women”, all associated with each other by the Boolean operator “AND”. We identified five studies that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were systematized into two empirical and co-related categories: the significant number of pregnant women who do not perform prenatal dental care and the importance of educational measures that signal the need to receive dental care during prenatal visits. Further studies on the subject are required to support public health policies that consider this theme. Existing research shows low adherence to prenatal dental care and that the main factors hindering the access to and use of dental services were related to socioeconomic, cultural and educational aspects.