December 2022

Background: The Brazilian federal government issued Ministerial Ordinance No. 718 in 2010 to expand the funding of orthodontic treatment provided by Brazilian municipalities via the Unified Health System (SUS in Portuguese). Aim: To identify social and structural factors associated with Brazilian municipalities that provide fixed orthodontic appliance therapy and interceptive orthodontic therapy. Methods: Official Brazilian government databases were used for data collection. Poisson regression with robust variance was used for statistical analysis. Results: Municipalities hosting Dental Specialty Centers (DSCs) with greater installed capacity (type III DSC with 7 dental chairs or over), which employed dentists specializing in pediatric dentistry and orthodontics, were more likely to offer orthodontic services via SUS. Conclusions: Federal, state, and municipal managers need to review the funding of orthodontic services via SUS, which can be used for creating DSCs and hiring professionals with expertise in orthodontics. Keywords: Orthodontics, Health Policy, Public Health Dentistry, Dentofacial Deformities