To describe trends of dentist-prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (
NSAIDs) and
analgesics, from January 2011 to December 2021, as well as to examine the relationship between these trends and characteristics of public oral health services in Minas Gerais, Brazil. In this time-series analysis, all drugs were classified according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification system. Drugs categorized as
NSAIDs (M01A), and other
analgesics and
antipyretics (N02B) were included for analysis. The outcome was the number of Defined Daily Doses (DDDs)/1000 inhabitants/year for
NSAIDs and
analgesics in each town. Covariates referred to characteristics of public oral health services, such as coverage, estimates of dental procedures, and frequency of
toothache. Linear time-series regression models were used to determine the influence of covariates on the outcome. Overall, there were 58,482 prescriptions of
NSAIDs recorded in thirty-eight towns, while 47,499 prescriptions of
analgesics in forty-three towns. For each year, there was a 0.38 (p < 0.001), and 0.28 (p < 0.001) increase in the average log of
DDD/1000 inhabitants/year for
NSAIDs and
analgesics, respectively. A positive association was detected between
toothache (p < 0.001) and the prescription of
NSAIDs. Over the eleven years, there was a general rising trend in the prescriptions.
Toothache was the only characteristic of public oral health services associated with the prescription rates of
NSAIDs, implying that as the frequency of
toothaches increase, so do the prescriptions of
NSAIDs in the studied towns.