[Determinants of the use of dental services in the pre-gestational and gestational periods: a cross-sectional study].

Dental services, which are essential for the oral health of pregnant women, suffer the influence of factors that either act as barriers or facilitators and impact mothers and babies. This cross-sectional study investigated the use of dental services and its determinants. Pregnant women who used public health services in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, from April to October 2022 were evaluated. Questionnaires recorded sociodemographic, psychosocial, and behavioral data. Untreated caries and gingivitis were clinically evaluated. The outcome considered the use of dental services in the last 12 months and the reason for use in the last visit. Multinomial logistic regression analyses based on the Andersen & Newman model evaluated the determinants of the use of dental services. Results are shown as odds ratios (OR) and their respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Of the 520 evaluated pregnant women, 72.3% used the services. Being in the second and third trimesters of their gestation was associated with the use of dental services for treatment in their latest visit (OR = 2.12; 95%CI: 1.12-3.74 and OR = 3.92; 95%CI: 2.02-6.86, respectively). Single/separated pregnant women, those with less schooling and low sense of coherence, and those who perceived barriers to use had 1.63 (95%CI: 1.03-2.56), 2.54 (95%CI: 1.24-5.20), 2.90 (95%CI: 1.25-6.69), and 2.14 times (95%CI: 1.10-4.13) higher odds of using no service, respectively. Thus, this study shows the relation between health determinants and the use of dental services in the pre-gestational and gestational periods. Finding these aspects can contribute to the reorganization of policies toward this group.