National Health Service dentist? In many places it’s fantastic

In Poland, every insured person has the right to choose a dental institution that provides dental services under an agreement with the National Health Fund. A referral is not required to visit the dentist. But, unfortunately, there are definitely not enough cabinets for the fund. A downward trend has been observed since 2011. This is confirmed by the report of the Central Statistical Office “Health and healthcare in 2021”.

In addition, every patient who reports a toothache should receive guaranteed care on the day of contacting the office. This is not always possible, as there are voivodships (eg West Pomeranian and Warmian-Masurian) where emergency dental care is provided by only one facility per several hundred thousand inhabitants.

There are no dental offices. But what about the NHF?

According to information received from the National Health Fund, 5,370 providers currently provide dental services. Most offices are located in cities, which means that very often patients living in rural areas simply do not go to the dentist.

Due to the decrease in the number of offices per fund, there are many “white spots” on the map of Poland.

– The conclusion of general dental services for children and adolescents under 18 years of age and adults takes place at the commune level in order to reduce “white spots”. The provincial branches of the National Health Fund systematically announce additional competitions, Andrzej Troszynski, acting spokesman for the headquarters of the National Health Fund, told us. He also added that in the near future it is planned to adjust the assessment of conservative dentistry services in accordance with the assessment prepared by the Medical Technology Assessment Agency and Tariff System.

What about dentists?

The problem of disappearing cabinets in his book Canal. What do dentists say when they don’t keep their mouths shut?”, the journalist Agnieszka Fedorovich touched.

In 2023 for dental treatment The National Health Fund has planned an amount of PLN 71 per patient.. According to the estimates of the District Medical Council in Warsaw, this is not enough for even the simplest filling (cost: about PLN 100-150). Instrument sterilization fees, electricity costs, and office rent are all on the rise. Even worse, if you look at the scoring of individual procedures: oral examination - 11 points, dental filling - 38-50 points, and his poisoning - 12 points - we read in the book.

The words of one of the characters - dentists, given by the author, are shocking. “Sometimes what I earn in the morning is not even enough for a sandwich that I buy for lunch,” says one of my interlocutors. “It’s very frustrating.”

Who is most likely to use a National Health Fund dentist?

GIS says that women visit the dentist more often than men This applies to both urban and rural residents. Approximately 28 percent of patients are children and adolescents under the age of 18. 15 percent are seniors aged 65 and over.

Dental care from the National Health Fund

As part of the free services, the patient has the right to:

• dental examination with instructions for oral care (1 time per year),

• medical examinations (3 times a year),

• x-ray inside the mouth,

• pantomographic photo with description,

• caries treatment,

• anesthesia for procedures

• removal of a tooth,

• surgical treatment (surgical removal of the delayed, wound dressing, massive hemorrhage arrest, surgical dressing, excision of a small node or tumor formation, fibroma, enucleation of an odontogenic cyst, enucleation of a stone from the salivary duct),

• treatment of lesions on the oral mucosa,

• removal of dental deposits from half of the dentition,

• regular (closed) tiering,

• root canal treatment (endodontic) – front teeth in adults and all teeth in children, pregnant women and in the postpartum period.

What the National Health Fund for Children and Youth Under 18 Eligible for

Through National Health Foundation Dental Services, children and teens can receive:

• fixing fissures of the sixth teeth with sealant (once up to 8 years),

• varnishing of all permanent teeth,

• dentine impregnation of milk teeth,

• treatment of caries of milk and permanent teeth,

• cosmetic coating of underdevelopment of the enamel of permanent teeth,

• periodontitis treatment,

• orthodontic treatment up to 12 years,

• light-curing composite fillings in the area of ​​incisors and canines on the upper and lower jaws.