Desigualdades en el control odontológico prenatal en Colombia, un análisis a partir del IV Estudio Nacional de Salud Bucal 2013-2014

Introduction: Dental care is essential in guaranteeing the right to healthy motherhood. In Colombia, prenatal care policies incorporate the promotion, prevention and care in Oral health as part of the comprehensive care that pregnant women must receive within the health system, however, there is no systematic monitoring of compliance with these guidelines. Objective: Explore effective care and social inequalities in the provision and use of prenatal dental control in Colombia. Materials and methods: Descriptive study with data on pregnant women reported in the Fourth National Oral Health Study 2013-2014. Absolute and relative social inequalities were estimated according to area of ​​residence, ethnicity, educational level, health affiliation regime and socioeconomic stratum. Results: Data from 1,050 pregnant women were analyzed, 88.37% received prenatal control and 57.19% received dental control. A general pattern of social gaps was observed in the effective use of the latter service, mainly based on insurance. The pregnant women with the greatest possibility of having some prenatal dental control were those with some health insurance (prevalence ratio [RP] 2.62, CI: 95% 2.12-3.12), residents in urban areas (RP 1, 37, CI: 95% 1.18-1.56), with higher-technical education level (RP 1.20 CI: 95% 1.02-1.38) or from upper-middle social strata (RP 1.15 , CI: 95% 1.01-1.29). Conclusions: In Colombia, the effective provision of dental control to pregnant women as part of comprehensive prenatal care continues to be a challenge. Significant efforts are required to comply with regulations and reduce social inequalities in access to this service.