Published: Less than 20 min ago
Public dental care in every third region states that they do not have time for dental care for children, reports Sweden’s Radio Ekot.
Sweden’s Public Dental Association says it is due to staff shortages.
– If we lose at-risk children now, they will be around for many, many years to come with major dental care needs, says chairman Gunilla Swanholm.
Folktandvården has the main responsibility for dental care for children and young people up to the age of 23 and manages more than 80 percent of children’s dental care today, reports Ekot.
Some regions have agreements with private practices, but the Swedish Public Dental Association wants more private dentists to get involved.
– What is needed is to change the compensation system for child and youth dental care, so that it is based on the actual costs of the care, says Lars Olsson of the member organization Privattandläkarna.
Under the current system, a fixed allowance is paid for each child regardless of care needs.
The government said last week that it wants to change how the dental care allowance is distributed without going into how it would affect children’s dental care.