User evaluation on dental care in the Unified Health System: an approach from the standpoint of humanization

The scope of this study was to assess user evaluation about dental care in the Unified Health System and analyze the associations between this evaluation, sociodemographic characteristics, and aspects related to humanization of the services. It involved a cross-sectional survey with a quantitative approach, in which 461 users responded to individual interviews. The outcome variable was obtained by means of the question: "How do you consider the care given by the dentist and by the team in this health unit?" Responses were grouped into "positive evaluation" and "negative evaluation." The independent variables integrated two groups: sociodemographic, and related to the humanization of care. The positive evaluation (90.4%) prevailed over the negative. Using Poisson regression, it was found that the negative evaluation was statistically associated with not having felt confidence in the dentist and staff, and not being able to talk to these professionals after the end of treatment. The results showed the preponderantly positive user evaluation of the service, and suggest that the evaluation may be more related to the humanization in services than to sociodemographic characteristics of the population.