Objective: To analyse the association between electronic cigarette use and the utilisation of dental services among Brazilian schoolchildren, considering sociodemographic characteristics potentially related to both phenomena.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the 2019 National School Health Survey (PeNSE), including165,838 Brazilian schoolchildren. Sociodemographic variables, electronic cigarette use, and utilisation of dental services in the previous 12 months were analysed. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed using the chi-square test. The association between electronic cigarette use and dental service utilisation was estimated using Poisson regression with robust variance, adjusted for sex, age, race/skin colour, and maternal education.

Results: The prevalence of electronic cigarette use was 18.0%, being higher among male schoolchildren (20.7%), those aged 16–17 years (24.4%), and those who self-identified as Black (19.6%). Utilisation of dental services in the previous 12 months was 71.0%, with higher frequencies among girls, younger schoolchildren, those who self-identified as White, and those whose mothers had higher educational attainment. In the bivariate analysis, an association was observed between electronic cigarette use and dental service utilisation. After adjustment for sex, age, race/skin colour, and maternal education, the association remained statistically significant, although of small magnitude (PR=1.03; 95%CI: 1.02–1.04; p<0.001). Sociodemographic characteristics also remained associated with dental service utilisation, indicating inequalities in access to dental care.

Conclusion: Electronic cigarette use was associated with greater utilisation of dental services among Brazilian schoolchildren, even after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. The results also reveal sociodemographic inequalities in dental service utilisation and reinforce the importance of integrated strategies for oral health promotion and prevention of electronic cigarette use among adolescents.